Articles
Interest for Mergers and Acquisitions Remains High
Annika Rautakoura
Mergers and Acquisitions
Best M&A Practices for the Next Decade
The Mergers and Acquisitions program gives you a structured understanding of the M&A process and equips you with the necessary tools and skills to succeed in each phase.
The program focuses on M&A as a means to implement company strategy and deepens participants’ understanding of different phases of the process, from the M&A strategy and target identification to the deal phase and further to post-merger integration and leading change. The program also provides a solid foundation for divestments or other separations.
The Mergers and Acquisitions program will significantly improve your ability to perform and contribute when participating in any phase of the M&A process. You will learn the latest knowledge and best practices from the leading experts in the field, which you can share with your organization.
4,5 ECTS credits can be transferred from the first module of the Mergers and Acquisitions program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.
"The emerging post-pandemic global landscape seems a world away from the past. M&A strategies are now firmly cemented as a fundamental part of the corporate arsenal, both in defense to preserve value and in offense to drive transformative growth. We anticipate a new combination of defensive and offensive M&A strategies will emerge and play a central role in helping companies fortify their gains, accelerate change, and capture market leadership."
M&A Deloitte Insights
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Mergers and Acquisitions Deloitte Insights
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The gold standard in executive-level M&A programs in the Nordics
A comprehensive M&A program with a top-level international faculty
Since 2017, this consistently popular program has received excellent customer feedback. The overall impression of the program is 5.34 / 6.0.
Benefits
During the program, you will learn to prepare your organization for M&A in the changing business and technology landscape. You will learn to identify and use the right tools for each phase of the M&A process. You will enhance your organization’s chance of smart acquisitions, successful integrations, and continued business success.
Learn key frameworks, tools, and best practices, including how to recognize common success factors and pitfalls
Get to know the entire M&A process and what it means for you and your organization in different phases
Learn how M&A can help your organization accomplish its strategic objectives and how you can best lead (or contribute to) a successful M&A
For
The program is for companies applying or investigating acquisitions as a part of their strategy to expand their business or acquire new capabilities. It is also suitable for companies using or exploring divestments as part of their strategy.
The program is designed for executive and management team members participating now or in the future in an M&A process. Managers and experts from the CFO’s office, strategic development, HR, and others will also find this program very valuable.
Contents and Schedule
The program will be taught through a mix of lectures, exercises, and case discussions.
Industry guest speakers are invited to the program to share their experiences and learnings on the M&A process and integration.
Program Schedule 2023
Instructors and Guest Speakers
Matti Suominen
Matti Suominen is Professor of Finance at Aalto University School of Business.
Suominen specializes in information economics in financial markets, market microstructure and corporate finance.
Suominen has previously worked as a consultant at the European Corporate Finance Practice of McKinsey & Co. and as a Chief Dealer in the Options and Futures Markets in Finland. From 1997 until 2006 he was in the full-time faculty at INSEAD, working first as an Assistant Professor and later as an Associate Professor of Finance. Although already also at the Aalto University, between 2006 and 2015 he has continued to work with INSEAD as an Adjunct Professor of Finance or as a Visiting Professor of Finance.
Suominen is actively involved in management consulting for financial institutions and executive education. He has taught in the MBA, PhD, and executive education programs. He has also taught in several company specific programs worldwide.
Matti Suominen did his PhD in Financial Economics in 1997 at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has also worked as a Visiting Associate Professor at Wharton.
Eero Vaara
Eero Vaara is Professor in Organisations and Impact at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford in UK, and visiting Distinguished Professor at Aalto University.
Professor Vaara has a PhD in Economics from the Helsinki School of Economics and MSc degrees from Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki School of Economics. Eero Vaara’s research interests focus on organizational, strategic and institutional change, strategic practices and processes, multinational corporations and globalization, and methodological and philosophical issues. He is generally regarded as one of the world’s leading scholars in postmerger integration. His research has been published in the very leading journals of the field, and he has authored several books. He is now serving as an Associate Editor of Academy of Management Journal.
Patrick Furu
Dr. Patrick Furu works as a Director at Aalto EE, as well as Adjunct Professor of Management at Hult International Business School.
He has 20 years of experience in consultancy and executive education for management concerning strategies, change processes, and competence development.
He has worked with many large companies, such as Aviva, Cargotec, Ericsson, Fortum, NCC, Nokia, Nordea, Pfizer, SEB, Skanska, Telia, and UPM. Patrick has board work experience in SMEs. His past activities include top management group experience in the IT industry.
Patrick’s research has centred on strategic knowledge creation and sharing in multinational companies, the role of the board of directors in medium-sized companies, and leadership models and processes in improvising jazz bands and classical music ensembles. At Aalto EE, Patrick covers topics such as strategy creation and execution, the interface between leadership and strategy, managing complexity, agile organizational forms, digital leadership, and high-performing teams and collective competence.
Debbie Wrench
Debbie Wrench leads the Swedish Post Merger Integration team. Wrench has over 15 years of experience in working on mergers, integrations and separations. Wrench has hands-on experience of planning and implementing integrations and separations in the UK, USA, Europe and Chile.
Wrench has worked on over 20 integration/separation assignments. She has experience as both an advisor to clients on their integration/separation strategy and approach as well as having first-hand experience of identifying and delivering synergies as a Senior Manager in Industry.
Tapio Koivumäki
Tapio Koivumäki is Leader of Operational M&A Advisory in Finland, including integration, separation and operational due diligence services for corporate and private equity clients.
Koivumäki has worked on numerous complex deals over the last 10 years in TMT, E&R, IP&S, Chemicals, Security, Insurance and Food industries. He is experienced in top management advisory, programme blueprinting, synergy and milestone development, Day1 readiness checks, TSA development, execution support, and synergy and separation reviews.
Koivumäki holds M.Sc. (Econ) and CEMS MIM from Helsinki School of Economics.
Carola Lindholm
Carola Lindholm is Partner in Castrén & Snellman's M&A team and a member of the board and management team. She has worked within M&A for almost 20 years and been involved in some 300 transactions, most with a cross-border element.
Carola Lindholm is often consulted for strategic M&A advice, and she takes a particular interest in the possibilities and risks climate change and constantly changing regulation bring for future businesses and investors. She regularly work on deals for both domestic and international clients in a variety of industries—the financial, insurance and health care industries, to name a few—and has also been involved in several major energy, renewables, and infrastructure transactions on the Nordic market.
Marko Pöllänen
Marko Pöllänen is Partner and the leader of Deloitte’s Transaction Services team in Finland and he is specialized in M&A advisory including financial due diligence engagements in both buy-side and sell-side transactions.
Pöllänen has long experience from developing strategy, executing M&A transactions and valuation projects. Pöllänen has led several diligence projects to both corporate and PE clients. His clients include both domestic and international companies of all sizes.
Marcus Alexander
Marcus Alexander is Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Vlerick Business School in Belgium and a Fellow of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre in London.
He was an Associate Fellow at Oxford University and contributes regularly to courses at the Danish Technical University and The Stockholm School of Economics.
Professor Alexander is an expert in group-level strategy and the role of the corporate center; managing globally; strategy process, innovation and execution; and mergers, acquisitions, and alliances. He has authored many articles and books (including 3 Harvard Business Review articles).
Alexander worked as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in London, Boston, Spain, and Australia. He then co-founded a company that he subsequently sold to an advertising agency, before moving into a more academic career. He continues to carry out consulting assignments, working primarily as a facilitator and ‘Business Counsel’ to senior management teams. Over the last 30 years he has also worked with over 50 Group CEOs around the world.
Alexander has been a non-executive director of 9 companies in 5 different countries, and a trustee of 2 charities.
Program Fee and Registration
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Webinar Recording: Megatrends in Business and Work
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