Selecting the Right Leaders for Post-Merger Success.
Delivering a fast-paced, high-stakes assessment program to define a unified leadership culture and select the leaders best equipped to drive integration and performance.
3 Big Wins
1
Unified leadership culture
clearly defined and aligned to strategic goals
2
125 leaders assessed in 3 weeks,
with deep individual insight and actionable organizational data
3
Faster, smarter deployment
of talent that accelerated post-merger integration and value creation
The Challenge.
Following a major merger, an international communications technology company faced the urgent task of uniting two very different businesses. One brought scale, reliability and global reach; the other, entrepreneurial agility and customer-focused innovation.
For the CEO and VP of HR, success wasn’t just about integrating systems or aligning culture: it was about performance. They needed leaders who could deliver growth, accelerate integration, and balance scale with agility. The question was: what capabilities would be essential to creating value in the new organization and which leaders would be the best fit to lead in this new environment?
We weren’t just filling roles - we were defining who we were becoming as a company. Getting the right leaders in place, fast, was non-negotiable.
Our Approach.
Working against tight timelines, we partnered with the CEO and executive team to clarify leadership priorities and deliver a high-integrity assessment process that balanced speed with rigor.
- Defined the Future Culture & Capabilities
Through fast-track workshops with senior leaders, we articulated the leadership culture and skills needed for success, blending the strengths of both legacy businesses. - Built a Strategic Assessment Process
We designed a targeted assessment aligned to cultural and strategic imperatives, combining structured interviews, capability profiling and behavioral assessment to evaluate capability, readiness and fit. - Executed at Scale and Speed
In just three weeks, 125 leaders across four countries were assessed face-to-face. Each received in-depth feedback and a tailored development plan, while HR gained aggregate insights to guide selection, deployment and long-term leadership development.
This was a fast-moving situation. We needed solid insight and practical action straight away, and OR Leadership made that happen.
The Impact.
- Within weeks, the business was able to deploy the right leaders into the right roles, reducing disruption and accelerating integration. The assessment data directly shaped a leadership development program that reinforced the new culture.
- Leaders described the process as fair, objective, and transparent – this was appreciated even among those not selected.
- Eighteen months later, the company was acquired at a 50% premium by a global industry player: a clear vote of confidence in its leadership and strategic direction.
The right leaders. The right roles. The right time. Let’s connect. >>