Programme overview
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain a powerful lever for strategic growth, portfolio reshaping, and capability building. While dealmaking has faced volatility in recent years, global M&A activity continues at significant scale, with a shift toward more focused, mid-sized transactions and capability-led moves—particularly in technology, sustainability, and transformation themes. For boards and senior executives, the message is clear: M&A is not slowing down; it is evolving in complexity and scrutiny.
At the same time, the value challenge is real. Evidence across multiple studies consistently shows that a large share of deals fail to meet their intended strategic or financial objectives—often due to overstated synergies, weak integration discipline, and cultural misalignment. As a result, the central boardroom question is not whether to pursue deals, but how to improve the odds of value creation through sharper deal logic, better challenge, and stronger post-deal governance.
This 4-hour, high-level programme equips senior directors, C-suite, and top management with a practical, boardroom-focused lens on modern M&A. Through concise briefings and case-based discussions, participants will learn how to stress-test deal rationales, interpret valuation and synergy assumptions at a high level, anticipate integration pitfalls, and strengthen governance across approvals and post-deal oversight. Participants will leave with clearer decision frameworks and sharper questions to apply immediately in the boardroom.
Who Should Attend
Sitting Directors and Senior Directors of PLCs, GLCs, financial institutions, private and family-owned companies.
Board Chairs, Committee Chairs and Lead/Senior Independent Directors who play a key role in shaping the board–management relationship.
Executive Directors and CEOs who also sit on boards and wish to sharpen the way they engage with their own boards and leadership teams.
Nominee and representative directors of GLICs, institutional investors or strategic shareholders who must balance multiple expectations in the board–management interface.
Learning outcomes
Interpret current global and regional M&A trends and understand what they imply for strategy, competition and capital allocation.
Differentiate between value-creating and value-destroying deals by examining deal thesis, strategic fit, valuation discipline and synergy assumptions.
Assess major risk areas in M&A – strategic, financial, regulatory, cultural and operational – from a board/C-suite perspective.
Evaluate integration strategies and governance structures that increase the probability of post-deal success.
Apply a board-level decision framework and questioning toolkit to live or upcoming deals in their own organisations.
