Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A—and What They’re Testing Next (Part 2) with Harrison Thomas

Jul 10, 2025

Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc., discusses innovations in mergers and acquisitions within the healthcare sector. He reveals how they shrank their diligence requests by over 65% using a centralized DealRoom. Harrison explains the importance of starting integration planning pre-close and the complexities of acquiring non-profit organizations. He also touches on the transformative role of AI in enhancing productivity while navigating regulatory challenges, providing a fascinating look at modern M&A strategies.

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ADVICE

Centralize Diligence With DealRoom

Use a centralized platform like DealRoom to keep all diligence questions and answers in one place.
This avoids redundant inquiries and keeps the process efficient for sellers and internal teams alike.

ADVICE

Enforce Use of Your Data Room

Require sellers and third parties to use your DealRoom data room exclusively.
This keeps deal documentation consistent and under your control, easing management and accountability.

ANECDOTE

Pre-Close Integration Challenges

In one deal, Beacon trained sellers' staff on their systems weeks before approval, which caused tension due to uncertainty.
This pre-close integration was necessary but challenging and not preferred for future deals.

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Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc.

In Part 2 of our conversation, we go deep into how Beacon is operationalizing M&A. Harrison reveals how they reduced their request list by over 65%, why they require third parties to use their DealRoom, and how integration now begins before the deal is even signed. He also dives into the organization's AI roadmap, their internal CRM transformation, and the surprising challenges of acquiring non-profit organizations. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at building a scalable, tech-forward M&A machine in healthcare, don’t miss this episode.

Things you will learn:

How to build a centralized M&A system across CRM, diligence, and integration
Why Beacon embeds integration planning before close—and the real cost of waiting
What it takes to acquire and integrate nonprofit healthcare organizations

Episode Chapters

[00:02:30] Using third-party compliance audits and chart reviews in diligence

[00:06:00] Evolving the deal process from relationship-building to IOI to close

[00:12:00] Reducing diligence requests from 474 to 147 using DealRoom

[00:14:00] Enforcing platform accountability for both internal teams and sellers

[00:16:00] Managing deal fatigue and broker feedback in seller-heavy processes

[00:21:00] Beacon’s shift from siloed M&A to One Beacon integration strategy

[00:26:00] Running diligence and integration in parallel, starting pre-close

[00:29:30] Valuation risks of integration backlog and how Beacon is addressing it

[00:35:00] Centralizing the full M&A lifecycle—from CRM to integration—in one platform

[0:41:00] How to approach acquiring nonprofit organizations (and why it’s worth it)

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