M&A Masterminds: Making Deals That Deliver

Acquisition is Not the Strategy — It’s the Accelerator

Mergers and acquisitions have a way of capturing headlines and exciting stakeholders. But behind the scenes, seasoned strategists know: M&A is not a silver bullet — and it should never be the strategy itself.

This distinction is more than theoretical — it’s foundational. Alok elaborated by identifying two strategic roles acquisitions can play.

The first is acceleration: using a transaction to scale faster into a market where organic growth is too slow or capital-intensive.

The second is what he calls “blue sky” — entering entirely new business lines or capabilities that are too distant from the core to build internally.

What matters, both agreed, is that the acquisition supports a strategic thesis that already exists. Problems arise when a company lets the deal become the strategy. The search for a target becomes the strategy itself — and that’s when misalignment, overpayment, and integration failures are most likely.

This is a timely reminder for business leaders: before you chase the deal, get crystal clear on the outcome you want the deal to serve. Strategy first. Acquisition second.

Stay “On” — Even When You’re Not Buying

In the world of M&A, timing is everything. That’s exactly why you need to be preparing all the time — not just when you’re actively shopping for a target.

Instead, great companies operate with a continuous M&A posture. They’re always scanning the market, building relationships with investment banks, talking to founders, attending industry events, and gathering intelligence.

That ongoing exposure has two major benefits. First, it sharpens the company’s situational awareness — giving leaders a better sense of what assets are out there and how they align (or don’t) with the broader strategy. Second, it creates the flexibility to act when the timing is right — which, in M&A, is rarely something you can control.

Successful M&A functions treat the pipeline like a sales funnel. This mindset shift is critical. Too many companies only activate their M&A engine when a specific opportunity emerges. But by then, it’s often too late — relationships are cold, intelligence is outdated, and the internal alignment needed to move fast hasn’t been built.

That’s why both executives emphasized the importance of a large, active pipeline and a clear set of screening criteria. Sometimes, when the fit feels right, speed matters. Alok shared an example where, after a single compelling phone call, he flew overnight to Europe for a face-to-face meeting with a target’s CEO.

The lesson is clear: treat your M&A capability like a standing function — not a seasonal project. Because when the right opportunity comes along, you’ll only win if you’ve already done the groundwork.

The Chief Strategy Officer: The Orchestrated Conscience

When it comes to M&A, the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) plays a uniquely powerful — and often misunderstood — role. They’re not just a project manager or a deal reviewer. At their best, they are the orchestrated conscience of the company, ensuring that every potential acquisition aligns with the broader strategic goals of the organization.

The CSO occupies a uniquely integrated position within the organization. From this vantage point, they can see across departments, strategies, and initiatives in a way few others can. This perspective allows them to align diverse efforts toward a unified vision.

According to Alok, in companies where the CSO doesn’t formally “own” corporate development, there can be confusion about where their responsibilities begin and end. The CSO should always own the strategic lens — the why behind a potential acquisition, even if others manage the how.

Kevin echoed this sentiment, pointing out that even in decentralized organizations where individual business units may pursue their own deals, the strategy office plays a critical governance role.

This requires a willingness to create constructive tension — pushing business unit leaders and deal teams to justify how a transaction fits within the broader strategy, not just their local goals. It also means protecting the company from “deal heat” — the tendency to get swept up in momentum or excitement rather than maintaining clear-eyed discipline.

But the role doesn’t stop there. The CSO must also be a blue-sky thinker — someone who isn’t waiting for deals to be brought to them but actively exploring what’s possible.

This mix of discipline and imagination — grounded orchestration and visionary exploration — is what separates tactical strategy officers from transformative ones.

At the end of the day, the CSO is the rare executive who holds the whole map. And when M&A is on the table, they must navigate not just where the company can go, but where it should go — and how every move supports the bigger picture.

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