Donara Jaghinyan – Transformation and Integration Leader

Donara joins us to pull back the curtain on why integrations break—and what it actually takes to make them work. With deep experience across healthcare, SaaS, professional services, and financial services in both public and PE-backed environments, Donara has led diligence, post-close integration, TSA execution, and enterprise system implementations. This episode tackles the hard truths about carve-outs, TSA management, day-one readiness, and the cross-functional dependencies that most teams miss until it's too late. If you've ever wondered why integration timelines slip or costs balloon, this conversation delivers the answers.

Things you will learn:

Why TSAs aren't contracts, they're projects with hard deadlines, cost escalations, and integration dependencies that functional teams consistently underestimate
The hidden complexity of carve-outs and how scope, vendor negotiations, and people gaps create surprises even with solid diligence
How Integration Management Offices (IMOs) orchestrate cross-functional dependencies that functional leads can't see

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Episode Timestamps

[00:02:30] The Empathy Advantage – Why sitting in every seat at the M&A table gives you the perspective to close better deals.
[00:04:00] Zero-Sum Thinking Will Kill Your Deals – The mindset shift from "winning" to ensuring everyone gets enough of what they want.
[00:07:30] Building Relationships That Actually Drive Deals – How a 30-year network of bankers, VCs, and former CEOs creates proprietary deal flow.
[00:10:30] Why Proactive Beats Auctions Every Time – Why almost all of Andy's deals are proactive and how strategic focus enables targeted outreach.
[00:14:00] Getting to the Story Behind the Company
[00:21:00] How to collaboratively build the acquisition narrative without being pushy or transactional.
[00:25:00] Trust Through Reputation and References
[00:32:00] Due Diligence Is Integration Planning
[00:42:00] Navigating the hardest negotiations—convincing product teams that buying beats building
[00:53:00] Walking Away on Principle – The deal Andy killed because the other side wanted to hurt employee shareholders

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Why Integrations Break with Donara Jaghinyan

M&A Science