Jennifer J Fondrevay – Merger and Acquisition Human Capital Advisor and Keynote speaker
Jennifer and Noah Graff of Today’s Machining World talk about managing employees after an acquisition. Jennifer dives into the different employee types and advice for executives coming into an M&A deal.
Jennifer chats with MDM’s Tom Gale about who must be involved in the M&A communication process and when, along with other intangibles.
Jennifer talks with George Grombacher about the human side of M&A, why so many deals fail, how to manage expectations, and the necessity of addressing the people side of deals.
Listen to learn why it’s a common mistake to tell people that nothing is going to change!
Jennifer was quoted in this Lattice article on aligning Life Sciences Teams following a merger.
Innovation requires a culture of trust.
Life sciences companies are built on innovation — and research shows that innovation takes trust, collaboration, and the sharing of ideas. Unfortunately, trust is often one of the first casualties of an M&A.
“One of the great ironies of M&A activity is that trust, a key ingredient for business success, often quickly dissolves, as M&A activity is usually cloaked in secrecy,” Jennifer J. Fondrevay, the founder of Day One Ready, an M&A consultancy, explained in a 2018 article in Harvard Business Review.
“A workforce can feel blindsided when a deal is announced, eroding trust and transparency in three mutually reinforcing ways: “our” company versus “their” company; the executive team versus frontline employees; [and] who stays versus who goes.”
SilkRoad Technology just released “Mergers & Acquisitions: The Ultimate Guide for Your Organization’s Onboarding Experience“. I was honored to contribute to the effort, and in the guide, you’ll hear my thoughts on the human capital challenges in M&A.
This guide explores:
1. The role of human resources during mergers and acquisitions
2. Technology as a strategic onboarding partner
3. 5 stages of employee change
4. And more
Jennifer joins Alex Drost on the Branch Out podcast whey they talk about rediscovering the humanity in business.
A full transcript of the podcast can be found here.
Jennifer joins Coach Harlan on his podcast to talk about how to prepare for and manage the people challenges of business transitions.
Jennifer joins Dr. Vince Molinaro on Lead the Future to discuss how senior leaders can prepare for human capital challenges when undergoing a merger or acquisition, as well as how leaders themselves can navigate the changing and often ambiguous environment that arises post M&A.
Jennifer was honored to speak at ACG’s April InterGrowth conference. On the panel “Managing Post-Transaction Integration: How to Achieve Cultural & Operational Success,” experts shared their experiences and advice for how to ensure M&A deals have positive outcomes.
The merging of two entities will undoubtedly ruffle some feathers, and human capital should be the focus of developing an effective post-transaction strategy. Yet Jennifer notes that the people of a merged entity are rarely the focus of post-transaction due diligence, and are more often an afterthought.
Trust, she said, is “critical to business success.” Yet it can dissipate virtually overnight following a merger because the majority of post-transaction integration planning is focused elsewhere. And in trust’s absence, an “us-versus-them” mentality can emerge that threatens to derail post-transaction success.
Read the full article here.
Jennifer discusses navigating corporate culture in mergers and acquisitions with John Carvalho of Divestopedia.
The full podcast can be found here.