In this engaging discussion, Sarah Hughes, the Head of Corporate Development at Atlassian, shares her journey in M&A from Google to Atlassian. She delves into the art of sourcing deals and building long-term relationships with founders. Sarah reveals Atlassian's three strategic pillars for acquisitions and the push-pull alignment between corporate development and product teams. The conversation highlights the crucial role of cultural diligence and integration planning, emphasizing how empathy and transparency foster successful post-acquisition outcomes.
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insights INSIGHT
Three Pillars of M&A Strategy
Atlassian's M&A strategy focuses on roadmap accelerants, future vacuums, and break-glass opportunities.
This multi-pillar approach helps balance immediate growth and long-term market relevance.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Long-Term Relationships Fuel Deals
Atlassian cultivated a 5-year relationship with Loom's founders before acquisition.
This long-term rapport smoothed diligence and integration after the deal.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Co-Author Vision With Founders
Involve founders early by co-creating the integration vision and sharing the roadmap.
This collaboration mitigates surprises and builds trust for smoother integration.
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Uncover the inside workings of Atlassian’s M&A strategy—from how Sarah’s team sources deals and aligns with product to the importance of relationship-building and a structured, founder-first integration approach. With over seven years of experience leading corporate development at Atlassian, Sarah shares practical lessons on building strategic pipelines, cultivating founder trust, and operationalizing successful integrations across Atlassian's global portfolio
Things you will learn:
Building long-term relationships with founders, even years before deals happen
Aligning product, venture, and partnership decisions under one roof
Atlassian’s approach to cultural diligence, integration planning, and transparency post-close
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Episode Chapters
00:02:00 – Sarah’s path into corporate development via Google and Atlassian
00:04:00 – Strategic rationale behind Trello and Loom acquisitions
00:07:00 – Atlassian’s three M&A strategy pillars: roadmap accelerants, vacuums, and break-glass opportunities
00:09:00 – How corp dev aligns with product: push-pull strategy and joint roadmaps
00:12:30 – Centralizing M&A, ventures, and partnerships under one team
00:15:30 – Using AI to accelerate sourcing, market mapping, and diligence
00:19:00 – Loom case study: a 5-year founder relationship turned acquisition
00:25:00 – Creating co-authored vision docs to align on integration and success metrics
00:33:00 – How Atlassian handles cultural diligence and post-close attrition risk
00:36:00 – Atlassian’s integration approach: open playbooks, IMO structure, and post-close planning
00:42:00 – Where AI is driving efficiency across the deal lifecycle
00:48:30 – Sarah’s advice to corp dev leaders on sourcing, alignment, and outside-in perspective
Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.
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