Executive MBA students at Paris HEC Business School complete their
one week cycle dedicated to M&A strategy and execution with a
"reality check" from someone who has experience M&A integrations first-hand.

Paul Siegenthaler was invited by the reputed H.E.C. Business School, located in the outskirts of Paris, to deliver the closing session of a one-week cycle dedicated to Mergers and Acquisitions as part of H.E.C’s Executive MBA programme. The week long cycle included courses on M&A strategy and diligence, as well as a number of case studies and workshops, at the end of which Paul’s session focused on why so many well thought through mergers or acquisitions end up in failure due to poor integration.

Beyond exposing some of the common mistakes that cause integrations programmes to derail, and animated discussion regarding ways of achieving the correct balance of in-house and subject matter expert resources in integration teams, the subject of leadership and communication generated high interest, since these are two areas that are deeply influenced by local culture and most of the students on the course are from continental Europe, Asia or Africa rather than from Anglo-Saxon countries. This is something close to Paul’s heart since as a Swiss citizen having lived in six countries on two continents, he has on many occasions been able to witness the consequences of poorly adapted communication or inappropriate leadership styles resulting from people’s lack of cross-cultural awareness - a sure way of losing one’s best allies and alienating key stakeholders.

Paul’s next M&A integration workshop at H.E.C. Business School is scheduled for 22^nd November 2010.