Former McKinsey's Top M&A Advisor on What CFOs Get Wrong About Deals
The Diary of a CFO with Wassia KamonOctober 01, 202600:45:08

Former McKinsey's Top M&A Advisor on What CFOs Get Wrong About Deals

David Fubini spent 35 years as a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, where he co-founded the firm's global merger integration practice. He has advised on dozens of major transactions, including the deal that brought IBM's PC business to Lenovo. He started his career at Johnson & Johnson, where he was part of the team that launched Tylenol as a consumer brand. He now teaches at Harvard Business School and is the author of four books, including his latest, Post-Merger Integration, released in June 2026 with Wiley.

In this conversation, David explains why most M&A deals fail, and why the answer has very little to do with the financial model. He breaks down the cultural and organizational blind spots that CFOs and management teams consistently miss during due diligence. He shares what happened behind the scenes of the IBM-Lenovo deal, including the moment that finally brought two very different teams together across 12 time zones. And he talks about what the best CFOs he has worked with do differently: they act as counselors, not disciplinarians. They speak hard truths to their CEOs. They translate numbers into what is actually happening inside the organization.

Whether you are a CFO navigating a deal, a finance leader thinking about M&A strategy, or someone who wants to understand what really happens after the paperwork is signed, this episode will change how you think about integration.

Connect with David Fubini: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fubini-b0009bb/

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