PEAK 10 PRESENTS 10 SURVIVAL TIPS

FOR CIOsWhen Their Companies Undergo

Mergers or Acquisitions

PEAK 10 PRESENTS 10 SURVIVAL TIPS

FOR CIOsWhen Their Companies Undergo

Mergers or Acquisitions

YOU’VE BEEN ACQUIRED…WELL, YOUR

COMPANY HASSO YOU HAVE TOO.

YOU’VE BEEN ACQUIRED…WELL, YOUR

COMPANY HASSO YOU HAVE TOO.

NOW WHAT?NOW WHAT?

BE READY TO EXITBE READY TO EXIT

1

If You Won’t Be Staying…

•Agree on a clear exit strategy.

•Negotiate a severance plan.

•Offer your support during the transition phase.

•Maintain dignity and a perceived role of influence during the transition period.

•Update your resume and network, network, network.

BE READY TO STAYBE READY TO STAY

2

It Won’t Be Easy But…•Accept that your role and responsibilities will change.

•Prepare to do things differently.

•Immerse yourself in the culture and strategy of the acquiring company; learn what they are about and what’s important to them.

•Show your willingness to make the integration of the two companies successful.

BE A ROLE

MODELBE A ROLE

MODEL3

Show Your Staff How It’s Done.•Address uncertainty with optimism.

•Focus on the tasks ahead rather than speculating about where you'll end up tomorrow.

•Support the strategic direction and priorities of the acquiring company’s CIO and executive team.

BE A LEADERBE A LEADER

4

Take Charge.•Offer to lead or co-lead IT or business integration work streams.

•Accept accountability for a subset of the IT integration-related synergy goals.

•Make and support difficult decisions.

•Facilitate networking with new colleagues.

BE DILIGIENT ABOUT DUE DILIGENCE

BE DILIGIENT ABOUT DUE DILIGENCE

5

It’s an Ongoing Process.•Foster trust by sharing essential know-how, solicited or not.•Help minimize surprises for the acquiring IT team by providing comprehensive information about your company's IT environment.•Learn what the new combined business’ focus will be on and strengthen your organization in those areas.

BE A COLLABORATORBE A COLLABORATOR

6

You Are In This Together.

•Embrace a team mentality rather than an us vs. them way of thinking.

•Work with the acquiring CIO — and encourage your staff to work with their counterparts too.

•Help harmonize IT decisions across your companies during the transition phase.

7 BE OPEN AND CANDID

Keep the Information Flowing.•Provide complete information about your company's IT environment and processes to the acquiring team.

•Explain what makes your IT team and current processes great and where improvement is needed.

•Share what you can, when you can, and provide frequent updates.

BE PART OF THE SOLUTIONBE PART OF THE SOLUTION

8

Make It Work.•Anticipate potential sources of concerns for the acquiring CIO and provide options.

•Offer solutions for avoiding integration-related disruptions.

•Demonstrate your ability to solve problems quickly, decisively and creatively.

BE QUICK AND AGILEBE QUICK AND AGILE9

Get the Show on the Road.•You can accomplish the most in the early days of an acquisition or merger so be ready to think and act quickly and decisively.

•Keep the momentum going; avoid temporary workarounds as they’ll likely be cumbersome − and could become permanent.

BE A GAME CHANGER

BE A GAME CHANGER

10

Bring Down the Siloes.•Take on responsibilities not assigned to other executives; show management you are an enterprise-wide leader who can take on diverse responsibilities.

•Use the merger or acquisition to gain experience and knowledge outside of IT; prepare yourself for a possible move to another C-suite position down the road.

Tell Us What You Think

What are your thoughts on surviving a merger or acquisition?

Send your comments to us at:

marketing@peak10.com

THANK YOU!THANK YOU!