Agenda Day 2, Thursday, October 8th, 2026:   (see Agenda Day 1)     (back to Merger Integration Event Summary)

09.00 – Opening Remarks from the Chair

Sid Chakraborty, M&A Consulting Leader, WTW

09.00 – How can M&A Integration Influences the CEO and Senior Management of a Target

·        When integration challenges ego, legacy & ownership

·        Leadership decisions under radical ambiguity

·        The invisible emotional load of integration

Anna Reva, Head of M&A Integration, IKEA Group (Ingka Investments)

09.30 - Building an Integration Capability in a Digital-First Company

·        What makes digital-first integrations different

·        PMI capabilities: from ad hoc to a repeatable engine

·        Creating integration buy-in and engagement throughout the deal lifecycle

·        Best practices for capability and consolidation integration (Bloom, United Wardrobe, Homerr)

·        Key challenges and lessons learned

Kinda Dalla, Director Corporate Development Integration, Vinted

Gerard Taboada, Manager, Corporate Development Integration, Vinted

10.00 -  How a Digital-First global company set up a Central M&A Integration function

Christian Heydrich, Senior Project Manager - M&A Integration, Delivery Hero

10.30 – Morning Coffee and Networking

11.10 - From Standalone to Integration: Building & Embedding Integration into Ricoh Europe M&A Programmes

·        Ricoh's transformation journey, and how Ricoh Europe has used M&A to transform and support growth in digital services

·        Embedding a step change in approach to M&A, driving integration vs. standalone approach for acquired companies, and the challenges faced

·        Building a centralised integration team and capability; approach to integrating multiple acquired companies simultaneously; and building fit-for-purpose governance (local vs. regional vs. global ownership & autonomy)

Hollie Jones, Director, Integration Design & Governance, Ricoh Europe

Peter Wallace, Senior Manager Merger Integration Programmes, Ricoh Europe

11.40 -  Case Study: Novo Nordisk’s Acquisition & Integration Journey in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Bjoern Leschny, VP of Mergers and Acquisitions Integration Global, Novo Nordisk

Simon Kjær, PMI Project Director, Novo Nordisk

12.10 – Breakout Groups

13.00 – Lunch Break

14.00 - Case Study of our Separation of AkzoNobel India

This session will present a practical case study on the separation of AkzoNobel India, highlighting the strategic, operational, and organizational complexities involved. It will cover key challenges, critical decisions, and lessons learned throughout the process.

Americo Fernandez, M&A Deal Integration Program Manager, AkzoNobel

14.30 – Key Lessons from Divestitures - that Strengthen Acquisition Execution

·        How do learnings from divestitures lead to better acquisition outcomes

·        Selecting scenario’s for backoffice carve outs

Matthijs Diepenhorst, M&A Integration and Disentanglement Program Director, Philips

Gera van der Loo, M&A Integration and Disentanglement Program Director, Philips

Tom Wondergem, IT Business Partner Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestments, Philips

15.00 – How are Corporations Using AI in their M&A Cycle  

·        How far companies progressed in the use of AI

·        Concrete business cases that are used by the panelists

·        AI agents, AI for analysis, and AI for the M&A Integration process:  what works, what is not yet ready, and how is it working?

Tomasz Kosinski, Head of Discovery and Growth Projects, Scope Fluidics

Caroline Bilbrough, Director of Post-Acquisition, IBM Consulting Ventures, Ecosystems & Acquisitions, IBM

15.30 - Brief Afternoon Break

15.40 – Acquisition/Integration in Emerging Markets

·        Challenges in deal making in emerging markets

·        Overcoming internal hurdles

·        Due diligence and integration focus

·        Compliance in emergency markets

Alistair Stephen, Senior Director Integration, Equinix

16.10 – Saving an Integration Gone Wrong

Case studies on failed integrations:  what went wrong, how could it have been avoided

·        Learnings that could be applied to future deals

Staci van Schagen-Toback, Head of PMI Excellence, ZEISS

16.40 -Closing Remarks and End of Forum

(see Agenda Day 1)      (back to Merger Integration Event Summary)