Kevin O'Connor, EVP, Chief Information Officer at Carlson Wagonlit spoke at the CIO Event UK 2013

1. Successful IT Integration for
Mergers and Acquisitions
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Kevin O’Connor
CIO, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

2. The Dream
• Big revenue increases through cross-selling
opportunities
• Big savings through synergies

3. The Day After
• The reality is that very few acquisitions realise
the dream
• And the ones that do are often by the same
companies

4. The Reality
• Multiple, poorly integrated systems
• Not achieved the staff and systems synergies
• Significant technology and people risk

5. Some Lessons Learned
• Articulate a clear vision of the end state early
on and keep championing it
• Be up-front about the synergies sought
• Make the key leadership decisions quickly
• Make the key systems decisions quickly

6. Some Lessons Learned
• Don’t be distracted by non core details and
miss the big prize
• Single-minded execution
• Be transparent and fair to the team
• Don’t lose your nerve

7. Some Lessons Learned
• Vision and charisma are key
• You cannot over communicate
• Be predictable
• Articulate a clear and compelling vision