Mission-Critical: PMO Needed to Manage a Crucial Acquisition Project
After recently making an acquisition, our client were about to kick off the management of this critical merger project, but they didn’t have anyone in the business with the required skills to get the work done.
It was a high-value acquisition and integral as part of their growth strategy for the year, so it was key to have a high-calibre individual on board and who could hit the ground running. It was time-critical with the project starting in 5 days, so they needed someone that they could trust and who knew the space already. A Freshminds Consultant with a management consultancy background and experience of mergers started within the 5 days to run the project end-to-end and deliver the merger successfully.
The Challenge
The current Operations Director was on maternity leave, leaving the company lacking the skills and resources needed for this project. The candidate would need to manage the merger from start to finish and report to the CFO. They would also have sole responsibility for delivering the project on time, as there were tight timescales which had to be achieved in order for the merger to be successful.
Who they needed:
A PMO with experience of past integrations
Someone from a management consulting background
Communication skills and personality fit were also very important as they would be working with a range of stakeholders across the business from creatives to data and IT functions - both at the client and the new company being acquired
Short turnaround: required support for a high value project at speed
They required someone to lead the project, not just support.
They’d be working across all functions of the businesses, and the client is a large, global organisation.
The candidate would need to build rapport with people in a short period of time
It was very important that the integration happened to timescales
The Freshminds Response
Detailed brief taking to fully understand the requirements, role, company and fit.
Extensive searching through our pool of freelance consultants to find someone with the skills and experience required who was available in such a short timescale.
We shortlisted two consultants - both of whom the client wanted to interview for the position
The candidate that was placed had previous experience of mergers, so he was able to bring both experience and fresh ideas to their organisation. A mixture of strong management, analytical and communication skills meant that he was a perfect fit for the project.
Results
Found and placed a PMO within 5 days, with both the skills and personality fit.
The candidate started immediately and was able to add value from the start
He successfully managed the integration of the new acquisition, working from both our client’s office in London and the new company’s office in New York.
He built strong rapport with stakeholders across the business and received very positive feedback on his management style.
The merger was completed to timescales, which ensured that the larger growth strategy went to plan
Our candidate created a handover manual for processes/templates to follow for future integrations so that his work could be replicated again.
Due to the success of this merger and fantastic feedback, our client has used Freshminds for numerous other Projects as well as permanent positions, ranging from Director to Analyst level.