What an Early Integration Thesis Includes

Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco

Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco Johanna Jaakola, Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team, and Tesia Hostetler, Leader of Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, share how one of the world's most prolific acquirers structures deals for success. This episode breaks down Cisco's integration-led diligence model, where integration leads orchestrate due diligence from the deal thesis stage, ensuring strategic alignment and execution readiness before ink hits paper. Learn how Cisco's structured approach to integration strategy, two-stage approvals, and tight feedback loops between strategy and execution have transformed their M&A outcomes—with insights from their $28 billion Splunk acquisition.

• Why integration leads should orchestrate diligence
• How creating an integration thesis alongside your deal thesis ensures every diligence question tests strategic assumptions and drives execution clarity
• How Cisco's dual approval process (one to negotiate LOI, another for final purchase agreement) creates natural checkpoints to validate strategy before committing capital

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[00:02:00] Cisco's Integration Leadership Team

[00:06:00] Role Clarity – Integration Lead vs. Integration Practice Leader

[00:10:00] How Cisco evolved from integration showing up late to embedding integration thinking at the earliest deal thesis conversations.

[00:15:00] Testing Assumptions Through Diligence

[00:22:00] How Cisco reorganized corporate development to eliminate silos between deal strategy and integration execution, creating tighter feedback loops.

[00:29:00] Two-Stage Approvals – Protecting Value with Structured Gates [00:33:00] Integration Leads Diligence – The Air Traffic Controller Model

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