David Boyd, Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande and Paul Siegenthaler from The Agile Gorilla collective discuss the world of mergers, acquisitions and integrations in 2023. We talk about the various impacts on acquisitions and integrations from AI (and OpenAI in particular), newly assertive regulators and changes in interest rates.

Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande and David Boyd and Paul Siegenthaler from The Agile Gorilla collective are joined by David Cox, a business transformation professional with a passion for Customer Experience. For over 15 years, David Cox has worked around Europe, South America and the Middle East helping clients drive revenue growth and customer loyalty.. We talk about who owns customer experience in an organisation, the challenge of keeping an external focus through an M&A deal, and the importance of metrics.

The merger of Essilor and Luxottica in 2018 was the combination of French and Italian champions in lenses and frames. Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande, David Boyd and Paul Siegenthaler from The Agile Gorilla collective talk about the merger, evaluate success given hindsight, and how the Italian-side Leonardo Del Vecchio prevailed in a fight for control.

The merger of law firms Allen & Overy from the UK and Shearman & Sterling from the US in a $3.4bn deal will not be easy to complete or deliver. Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande, David Boyd and Paul Siegenthaler from The Agile Gorilla collective talk about the challenges of merging professional services firms, especially those with a large number of partners. We talk about what the benefits of the deal look like, and how to achieve them.

Following a rare acquisition of a Mittelstand company by a foreign buyer, Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande, David Boyd and Paul Siegenthaler from The Agile Gorilla collective talk about the “Mittelstand” grouping of companies in Germany. How they differ in leadership and governance from typical companies in the Western hemisphere, and what that means for M&A.

Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande, Paul Siegenthaler and David Boyd from The Agile Gorilla collective, talk about the separation of Worldpay from FIS (so soon after the acquisition), and the latest news from the EY separation.

Ben de Haldevang, Abhay Pande, Paul Siegenthaler and David Boyd from The Agile Gorilla collective, talk about the separation of EY’s global consulting business and what it means for partners, staff and the wider industry.