The toughest 90 days: why the best C-level appointments fail after a post-merger integration.
Two companies merge. A high-calibre executive is brought in to deliver the synergies. On paper, a perfect match.
Six months later, the client is disillusioned: things have stalled, teams are unsettled, and the new leader isn’t getting any traction.
In my years in executive search, I’ve watched this M&A drama play out far too often.
What went wrong?
The company hired top talent but never systematically prepared the organisation for the new leadership story. When new leaders are dropped into an existing structure, worlds collide.
A new CFO or COO who tries to impose their old corporate playbook straight away burns through the trust of the team and the shareholders in no time.
The framework we give our candidates for a successful start at C-level:
1. Diagnose before you perform
The first 30 days aren’t about presenting yourself. They’re about uncovering the hidden blockages in the system and the real pain points of the existing team.
2. A calm roadmap
Successful leaders set out a clear, Scandinavian-style narrative for how the transformation will unfold: understated, precise and completely reliable for investors and supervisory boards.
My conclusion as an adviser:
for us, a mandate doesn’t end when the contract is signed. A C-level role is won or lost in the first 90 days, on the hard ground of post-merger reality.
In your experience, which weighs more heavily in a PMI: cultural rejection by the existing team or impatient pressure from investors?
