also called: integration manager, IMO lead, post-merger integration
An integration lead owns the plan for what actually happens after closing: which systems merge and when, who reports to whom, what customers and employees are told and by whom, which of the promised synergies are being tracked, and who is accountable for each. On larger deals this becomes an integration management office coordinating multiple workstreams.
The critical point about this role is timing. Integration should be designed before the letter of intent, because what you intend to do with the business after closing determines what you should pay for it and what you must diligence before you sign. Buying the company is the transaction; creating value from it is the work.
Appointed before the letter of intent, not after closing. If nobody in your organization can be freed up to do this, that is itself a readiness finding worth taking seriously.
Either an internal appointment, which has a real opportunity cost you should count, or an external interim engaged for a defined period at a day rate or fixed fee.
Leaving the seat empty and assuming the management team will absorb integration alongside their existing jobs. They will absorb it by dropping something, and what they drop is usually the core business.
Not a systems integrator, who implements technology within a plan. Not a management consultant engaged for strategy.
The Institute accepts no payment from any advisor, takes no fee tied to any transaction, and does not place or refer professionals for compensation. This entry describes a role, not a recommendation of any firm.