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, continue their deep dive into Cisco's integration-led M&A framework. In Part 2, they reveal how integration planning shapes diligence, how value drivers guide surgical execution, and what it takes to coordinate a 180-person M&A community. From day one employee experience to go-to-market complexity and the Splunk mega-deal, this episode delivers practical frameworks for M&A professionals looking to accelerate value creation while protecting what matters most.
Things you will learn:
Learn how Cisco tests integration strategy during diligence and adjusts execution plans based on findings without losing sight of deal thesis
Discover how Cisco structures functional integration leaders, maintains alignment through recurring touchpoints, and tracks everything in a centralized M&A hub
Understand how to validate customer stories, align partner ecosystems, and make surgical decisions about when to integrate sales motions versus protecting existing revenue engines
_____________________
M&A Doesn't Have to Be So Painful 💔
Get Optimized with DealRoom
DealRoom helps corporate development teams take control—streamlining diligence, syncing integration, and eliminating the back-and-forth.
👉 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process at DealRoom.net
____________________
This episode is brought to you by S&P Global.
Today's episode of M&A Science is brought to you by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
If you're in corp dev or PE, you know the pain — good private company data is hard to come by. Everyone's still chasing clean, reliable, up-to-date data. I started out using CapIQ Pro for public comps, but didn't realize until recently how deep their private company coverage has gotten. Over 58 million private companies, global reach, and actually usable for real deal work.
This isn't surface-level. You get real metrics — ownership, financials, funding rounds, even asset-level insights. So if you're still toggling between a dozen tools trying to piece together the picture, maybe it's time to stop guessing and start sourcing better.
Learn More Here:
https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/solutions/products/private-company-data?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=MAScienceH225
_______________
Questions, comments, concerns?
Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.