Most companies are failing at AI.

Not because the technology is broken, but because the organization is not ready for it.

In this episode of This Is M&A, Lisa Davis, Founder and CEO of Davis Core Advisory, breaks down why 95% of enterprises show no ROI on AI adoption, what leaders are getting wrong about digital transformation, and how executives can build the kind of organization that is actually ready for what comes next.

Lisa is a CIO Hall of Fame inductee with over 30 years of leadership across defense, government, healthcare, and technology. She served as EVP and CIO of Blue Shield of California, where she led digital transformation for a $24 billion nonprofit health plan. Prior to that she managed an $8 billion P&L as VP and GM at Intel, and held CIO roles at Georgetown University, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Defense. She currently serves on the boards of Movius and 3Strands Global Foundation and is an Executive in Residence at Progress Partners.

In this episode, you will learn: ⚡️ Why 95% of enterprises see zero ROI on AI and the three root causes behind the number ⚡️ What CEOs and CIOs consistently get wrong when leading digital transformation ⚡️ How to define and build a portfolio career before you need one ⚡️ The five-year rule for landing a board seat and why 80% of board seats come from your network ⚡️ What modern boards are still missing and why CIOs belong at the table

🔗 Learn more about Lisa Davis and Davis Core Advisory: Website: https://daviscoreadvisory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-davis-cio/

🔗 Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/

Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/

Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify.

#thisismapodcast #mna #digitaltransformation #artificialintelligence #leadership #boardroom #cio #womeninstem

Most founders treat selling their business like selling milk at the grocery store.

Pete Moore has spent 20 years watching that mindset cost founders millions.

In this episode of This Is M&A, Pete Moore, Founder and Managing Partner of Integrity Square, breaks down what it actually takes to build a business worth buying: the playbook, the team, the fourth quarter, and the one line every founder needs to hear before they hire an advisor.

Pete has driven M&A in the wellness and active lifestyle space for over two decades. He founded Integrity Square, a boutique advisory and seed investment firm focused on the HALO sector, which stands for Health, Active Lifestyle and Outdoors. He previously closed over $1.5B in deals at Sagent Advisors, co-founded Iron Planet which sold to Ritchie Bros. for $758M, hosts the HALO Talks podcast, runs the HALO Academy, and wrote Time to Win Again: 52 Takeaways from Team Sports to Ensure Your Business Success.

In this episode, you will learn: ✔️ Why every business is really just solving a frustration someone will pay for ✔️ How the right playbook and the right team create value buyers pay a premium for ✔️ Why sharing real financials with your team builds the alignment that survives a sale process ✔️ What the 4th quarter of a deal actually looks like and how to keep your best people through close ✔️ Why silence is the death knell of relationships during a transaction

Learn more about Pete Moore and Integrity Square: Website: https://integritysq.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/peteymo/ Email: pete@integritysq.com

Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/

Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/

Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.

Chapter Markers 00:00 — "I'm Not Your F***ing Vendor" 01:01 — Meet Pete Moore, HALO deal maker 05:40 — Every business solves a frustration 10:06 — Building the winning playbook 14:47 — Draft right, crockpot your managers 25:30 — The client is never the idiot 29:44 — You're entering a rollercoaster with no seatbelt 34:25 — Fourth quarter: close the deal or lose everything 40:38 — The mentors who built Pete Moore 43:35 — Where to find Pete

#thisismapodcast #mna #exitplanning #founders #halosector #wellness #privateequity #middlemarket

Most earnouts are never earned. Most founders do not know why until it is too late.

In this episode of This Is M&A, Salim Dada, Managing Director and CEO of Concord Ventures, breaks down the three deal structure decisions that determine whether a founder walks away with what they expected: cash versus equity, earnouts and seller financing, and leveraged buyouts in today's credit environment.

Salim has closed more than 100 business sales across technology, aerospace and defense, manufacturing, logistics, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and retail. He has been doing this since 2001, focuses on transactions between $20M and $100M in enterprise value, and is based in Seattle where aerospace and defense M&A keeps him very busy.

In this episode, you will learn: ⚡️ When to take cash and when rolling equity actually makes you more money ⚡️ Why earnouts based on revenue protect sellers and earnouts based on profit almost never do ⚡️ How to structure seller financing so it does not go south ⚡️ What platform versus add-on means and why it changes your negotiating position ⚡️ Why private equity stopped going to banks and what that means for deal financing today ⚡️ Why honest conflict early in a deal is almost always a better sign than polite agreement

Learn more about Salim Dada and Concord Ventures: Website: https://concordventuresinc.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/salimdada/ Email: Salim.d@concordventuresinc.com

Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/ Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/

Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.

#thisismapodcast #mna #exitplanning #founders #dealstructure #earnout #privateequity #middlemarket

00:00 Intro 02:33 Cash Vs. Stock: When To Take Chips Off The Table 07:29 Case Study: Turning A Skeptical Seller Into A Believer 18:03 The Golden Rule Of Earnouts (Revenue Vs. EBITDA) 22:55 Seller Financing: How To Vetting Your Buyer's Pockets 30:34 Platform Vs. Add-On: Know Your Position In The Portfolio