Wild M&A Stories: Negotiating from the ER

Brandon Batt – Chief People and Transformation Officer at Quadient

Brandon Batt joins us to discuss how successful M&A integration starts long before you sign an LOI. Brandon shares how Quadient built M&A capability across the organization through strategic hiring, created a transformation office that breaks down traditional silos, and executed portfolio transformation through dozens of acquisitions and divestitures. Learn why the secret to integration success isn't just about playbooks—it's about building M&A muscle into your team from day one.

• Why hiring for M&A experience across your organization creates the foundation for deal success, even in roles that seem unrelated to corporate development

• The transformation office model that eliminates the handoff problem

• Why cultural "add" beats cultural "fit"

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[00:02:30] Building a Transformation Office – How Quadient structured M&A, HR, legal, and sustainability under one umbrella to drive seamless execution

[00:05:00] Portfolio Simplification Through M&A – Starting transformation with strategic divestitures before adding new capabilities through acquisitions

[00:10:00] The Pre-LOI Integration Planning Model – Why strategic operations teams get involved in due diligence from the beginning, not after the deal is signed

[00:16:00] Human Connection as M&A Secret Sauce – Building trust with founders and management teams before discussing price and terms

[00:21:00] Hiring for M&A Muscle – Why M&A readiness starts with recruiting people who have transaction experience across key business functions

[00:28:00] Evolving M&A Maturity – Getting more formal about talent assessment and playbooks while giving teams autonomy to move fast

[00:33:00] Founder-Led Business Challenges – Learning to structure deals and set expectations upfront when acquiring companies led by first-time sellers

[00:42:00] Collaboration Without Hierarchy – How "collaborate like crazy" became a cultural principle that breaks down silos in M&A execution

[00:47:00] Deal Story: Meeting in London During COVID – Why some deals still require getting on a plane, even during a pandemic

[00:51:00] AI in M&A and the Human Element – Balancing technology efficiency with the human intuition that uncovers critical deal insights

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Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.