Winning in a Disruptive World
AI or Irrelevance: The Defining Transformation of Our Lifetime
Published June 2025
We have entered the greatest industrial shift since the birth of the internet. Artificial Intelligence is not a tool to “consider” one day. It is here. It is moving faster than any transformation in history. You either embrace it now or watch your relevance evaporate.
In M&A, in transformation, in every transaction worth doing, AI is no longer an optional enhancement. It is the engine. What once took consultants weeks can now be done in hours. Analysis, diligence, scenario modeling, integration planning — all accelerated. Consultant capacity has multiplied a hundredfold. The smart firms are redeploying that capacity into higher‑order strategy, deeper insight, and bolder innovation.
Yet even in a world of intelligent machines, human judgment, trust, and licensed expertise still matter. In regulated sectors and relationship‑driven industries, the human will remain the final call. But the need for armies of junior staff will shrink. Companies must create deliberate human capital strategies to ensure that today’s junior professionals — those who survive the automation wave — are cultivated into tomorrow’s leaders.
The risk is clear. Over‑reliance on machines can erode essential human skills: curiosity, creative problem‑solving, leadership presence. The opportunity is even clearer. Properly harnessed, AI doesn’t diminish the professional — it turns them into a superhuman operator.
This is not a test. This is not a pilot program. The train has left the station and it will not slow down. The organizations that act now, embed AI deeply, and reinvent themselves from the inside out will own the next decade. Those that delay will become acquisition targets at best, irrelevant footnotes at worst.
The future belongs to those who move boldly.
How to prepare and execute transformative transactions ?
Published December 2024
In 2023, as part of my work at KPMG, I developed the core value proposition and service architecture for the firm’s Transformative Transactions offering, and authored the strategic framework behind it. The whitepaper “How to Prepare and Execute Transformative Transactions?” reflects this work, offering a clear playbook for executing complex, high-impact deals that reshape organizations across functions, geographies, and operating models. In an era of accelerated disruption, transformative transactions are no longer optional for companies seeking to redefine their strategic position, scale rapidly, or unlock long-term value.
Is It Time To Go Private?
Published March 2023
As part of my work at KPMG, I co-authored the thought leadership piece “Is It Time to Go Private?”, which explores the rising trend of public companies transitioning to private ownership. The article outlines strategic, operational, and market-driven considerations for executives weighing the advantages of going private in today’s economic climate—including enhanced flexibility, reduced regulatory burden, and improved long-term value creation.
Published July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic was a black swan event that reshaped the global business landscape overnight. In a matter of weeks, companies were forced to adapt to a fully virtual reality, accelerating years of digital transformation into months. Organizations that delayed digitization found themselves behind, while skeptics of remote work quickly discovered its viability.
While some hope for a return to the pre-COVID norm, others accept that aspects of this new world are here to stay. The truth lies in between. The timeline for recovery remains uncertain, but the crisis has revealed the adaptability of people and businesses alike.
Same Goals, New Playbook
Core business objectives remain unchanged. Leadership, growth, efficiency, and execution still define success. But how we pursue these goals must evolve. Leaders must now ask:
* How do we maintain revenue through volatility and recession?
* How do we sell, market, and build relationships virtually?
* How do we manage cost without sacrificing talent?
* How do we rethink supply chains in a fragmented global environment?
This period has forced rapid experimentation, with business models being challenged and rebuilt in real time.
Remote Work: Gains and Gaps
The global work-from-home (WFH) experiment has proven effective in many areas. Video conferencing replaced in-person meetings. Commutes disappeared. Productivity improved for many, and companies began rethinking real estate—one of their largest expense categories. The failed trend of open office spaces gave way to quieter, more flexible environments that blend work and personal life more naturally.
However, challenges are emerging. The always-on dynamic leads to burnout. The absence of hallway conversations, informal coffee chats, and physical breaks between meetings is taking a toll. Parents of young children face severe distractions. Creative collaboration and relationship-building suffer without in-person energy and trust-building moments.
The Future Office: Purpose-Driven and Flexible
The post-COVID office will not disappear, but it will be redefined. The outdated model of the industrial-era workspace is gone. The new office will be a destination for collaboration, innovation, and connection. It will be designed with health, flexibility, and creativity in mind, offering more space per person and more areas to meet and engage.
We will go to the office when it adds value, not to be seen. Attendance will be driven by purpose, not presence. The workplace will become a platform for relationships, inspiration, and launching new ideas—not a symbol of control.
What's Next: A New Corporate Operating Model
COVID-19 exposed both the resilience and vulnerabilities of modern business. The next chapter requires agility, intentional design, and a deep focus on people and productivity. Companies that blend digital fluency with human connection will lead in this new era, where transformation is not an event, but an operating principle.
Merger Integration in a Fast-Paced World
Published August 2019
In today’s super-fast changing world, keeping up with the newest technological development is harder than ever for global corporation which with all the resources still tend to be slower to market. The result is M&A activity is once again on the rise. But approximately 90 % of M&A transactions fail. The reasons are many but we can split it to two: bad fit and bad integration. Bad fit is the outcome of flawed due diligence, which should be looked at with caution and the highest sensitivity. Most corporations understand that and work hard to make a good decision.
Second is the integration: getting that one right sounds easy, right? most underestimate its complexity, cost and time of integrations. Getting the integration wrong can result with a very lengthy process, loss of talent, loss of market position and at its worst – a total fail.
How do you get integration right then? Good question.
Let’s start with why it’s so hard. People don’t like change. Both sides of the integration usually prefer to delay the project as much as possible and avoid it, for different reasons. On the acquired side, there is fear of loss of control as well as loss of jobs. On the acquirer side, well, everybody already have their day job which they master, no one has the patience for the “CEO’s new pet project” as its commonly referred to, and, they don’t like change too.
Basically, it is easy to make the decision that pleases both teams: "let’s keep everything as is for now” and the temporary become permanent and precious time is lost in achieving synergies, or leveraging the new asset. When integration is delayed, the risk of losing talent increases and de facto, the potential of the combined assets is not realized. Creating an integration office, which is focused on pushing the integration through has become the industry standard for successful integrations. The integration office will define clear financial and strategic goals, a clear overall timeline, defined governance model, a workstream and escalation structure, clear roles and responsibilities, budget and timeline per workstream. The office’s core principles should include balancing maximum impact with minimum business disruption during transition, which can be achieved with close oversight and the right level of agility.
The transition period come with risks such as loss of talent, overload of work hurting the day to day operations and tensions between the acquirer and acquiree. All should be closely managed. When managed right, the negative impacts can be brought to a minimum. An integration can make or break an acquisition’s success, putting in place specialized support will do the trick.
Integration's Hidden costs
Published September 2019
In mergers and acquisitions, the primary focus often centers on valuation, synergies, and deal mechanics. Yet, a critical and frequently overlooked dimension lies in the indirect costs of integration, particularly those embedded within core support functions such as IT, Finance, HR, and Compliance. These costs are not only difficult to quantify during diligence, but in many cases are underestimated or ignored altogether. The consequences can be significant, eroding the anticipated return on investment and complicating post-close execution.
To mitigate these risks, acquirers must surface and evaluate integration costs early, during diligence, not after close.
Information Technology (IT): Foundational, Complex, and Costly
IT integration is among the most consequential and underestimated components of post-merger integration. It encompasses both basic infrastructure (e.g., networks, email, directories) and enterprise systems (ERP, HRIS, CRM, finance, supply chain).
Every company has its own IT architecture, whether built in-house or licensed, cloud-based or on-premise. Unifying these environments is essential to:
* Enable seamless day-one operations
* Foster a sense of organizational unity
* Satisfy regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR)
The integration effort demands specialized expertise to map, plan, and execute the migration. Complexity increases significantly when systems are custom-built or materially different. Failure to integrate early often results in dual systems, duplicated processes, rising fixed costs, and operational risk as institutional knowledge erodes through attrition.
Human Resources: Standardization and Culture Alignment
HR integration involves much more than aligning systems. It touches workforce structure, compensation, benefits, holidays, leveling, and titles, each with cultural and financial implications.
While it is possible to retain separate compensation and benefit structures, doing so risks internal inequity, cultural fragmentation, and talent attrition. Standardization, though potentially costly, especially if aligned to the higher-paying entity, is a strategic investment in employee engagement and long-term cohesion. External HR consultants are often needed to navigate this transformation effectively.
Finance: Enabling Business Continuity and Insight
A unified finance function is foundational to operating as one business. Without early integration of financial systems, reporting standards, and classification frameworks, organizations face delays in performance reporting, fragmented decision-making, and increased audit risk.
Harmonizing finance processes is often resource-intensive and requires both technology investments and cross-functional coordination. However, the cost of inaction is higher, leading to regulatory exposure, operational inefficiencies, and missed synergies.
Compliance: Avoiding Costly Exposure
The regulatory landscape is continually evolving, and many targets may not be fully compliant with emerging standards. Post-close, the acquirer inherits this risk. Delays in bringing the acquired entity into compliance can not only result in fines or reputational damage, but may also put the parent company out of compliance.
Proactive assessment and remediation planning, ideally before close, can mitigate these risks and reduce long-term integration costs.
How to address the challenge ? Integrate Diligence and Integration
Surprises post-close are rarely welcome, especially when they erode deal value. A thorough diligence process that includes a deep dive into integration complexity and cost is essential to achieving desired outcomes.
Engaging specialized integration advisors during diligence enables more accurate valuation, enhances decision-making, and lays the groundwork for smoother execution. In today’s environment, integration readiness is not just an operational necessity, it’s a strategic imperative.
Corporate Transformation in the 21st century
Published January 2019
The 21st century is defined by relentless change. We are in the midst of a profound transition, moving toward a new global order that remains partially undefined. The velocity of technological advancement has accelerated dramatically, bringing science fiction closer to reality within our own lifetimes. Simultaneously, a generational shift is underway, as millennials take the helm of the global workforce, bringing with them distinct values, expectations, and ways of working.
These technological, generational, and geopolitical forces are reshaping the corporate landscape at an unprecedented pace. Market dominance is no longer durable. Yesterday’s market leaders can disappear overnight, and today’s disruptors must continually evolve or risk irrelevance.
In this environment, transformation is no longer a reactive measure for distressed companies, it is a strategic imperative for healthy organizations seeking to maintain relevance and lead.
Transformation as a Core Operating Discipline
Modern corporate transformation is less about firefighting and more about continuous reinvention. It’s akin to engaging a personal coach at the enterprise level, focused on introspection, goal setting, and measurable progress.
Best-in-class organizations institutionalize transformation by establishing a dedicated corporate transformation office. This function is tasked with:
* Reassessing the business model for ongoing relevance
* Challenging revenue strategies, including product innovation, pricing, go-to-market models, and distribution
* Scanning the market for emerging competitors, partnership opportunities, and M\&A prospects
* Ensuring strategic alignment with evolving customer expectations and industry trends
This function doesn’t operate in isolation. It partners closely with strategy, finance, product, and HR to keep the organization agile and forward-looking.
Rewiring the Cost and Operating Model
Transformation must also address the cost structure and operating model. This includes optimizing organizational design and aligning it with emerging workforce norms, such as hybrid teams and fluid employment models.
Key areas of focus include:
* Designing lean, adaptive structures that balance fixed and variable cost bases
* Evaluating the right mix of in-house versus outsourced capabilities
* Rethinking centralization, hierarchy, and decision-making models
* Integrating new tools and digital workflows to improve speed, scalability, and responsiveness
No single blueprint fits all. Each organization’s transformation journey must be tailored based on its strategy, market position, and internal dynamics.
The CEO as the Corporate Chef
Despite evolving methods and philosophies, a few business fundamentals remain true: buy low and sell high, reduce fixed costs, protect intellectual property, and differentiate to stay ahead.
But in today’s multi-dimensional, fast-moving environment, the formula for success is highly contextual. The modern CEO resembles a master chef, sourcing the freshest market insights, selecting the right tools, and adjusting the recipe daily based on shifting conditions.
Agility, curiosity, and executional discipline are the defining attributes of 21st-century leadership. Transformation isn’t a destination, it’s a permanent state of readiness.