Director, M&A Integration & Separation

The M&A Integration and Separation team is a part of Corporate Development organization. The team oversees strategically integrating acquired assets and separating parts of the company undergoing divestiture.  This includes designing the integration/separation strategy in collaboration with the BU sponsor and functional experts, securing executive approval and funding, executing against plans in partnership with target company/buyer and having overall accountability for end-to-end program and outcome. 

Along with owning corporate integration/separation globally, the team’s responsibilities also include leading efforts to leverage the company’s assets to maximize value, championing opportunities to leverage the acquisitions’ assets to benefit the company’s existing businesses and in some cases partnering with senior leaders to craft the strategy.  The team works closely with the M&A organization, also part of Corporate Development, along with teams across the company to effectively manage integrations/separations.

How will you make an impact in this role?

The Director will mobilize and lead functional and business teams through M&A integration/Separation planning and execution, while also contributing to ongoing development of American Express’ integration/separation infrastructure and process improvements. 

On each project, the Director will be the primary liaison with executive sponsors across the business and counterparts within the target company/buyer and will hold overall accountability for each project’s success. The Director will also ensure that continuous improvement to the M&A integration/separation process is being incorporate after each engagement leveraging lessons learned and industry best practices.

• Partner with business groups to understand, outline, and influence business strategy and its implication on integration/separation
• Lead business and functional teams to create strategic approaches to complex projects with effective plans that capture maximum value from each transaction
• Drive project progress by managing cross-functional teams, overcoming obstacles/risks, developing strategic recommendations, and ensuring deliverables are optimally executed
• Establish and lead integration/separation governance, including cross-functional decision-making, executive escalation, milestone management and accountability across workstreams.
• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team of M&A integration managers, providing direction across integration/separation initiatives and supporting their ongoing professional development.
• Identify and manage critical cross-functional dependencies, translating them into a cohesive integration/separation roadmap
• Develop effective working relationships with key stakeholders to achieve results and enact value identified in deal rationale
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders, framing complex integration decisions, surfacing trade-offs and risks, and driving timely decisions across stakeholders with competing priorities.

• Demonstrated experience leading M&A integrations within a corporate/in-house environment, with direct accountability for integration planning and execution.
• 3+ years of experience operating at a director-equivalent level, leading complex enterprise, or M&A integration programs across multiple phases of the lifecycle, including pre-close planning, Day 1 readiness, execution, value realization, and transition to business-as-usual.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, complex integrations involving multiple business units, geographies and/or functions, with significant organizational, technology, operational and regulatory dependencies
• Experience leading M&A integrations required; experience with divestitures, separations and/or carve-outs preferred
• Excellent interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills, and influencing abilities
• Strong analytical rigor, complex problem solving and critical thinking abilities
• A self-starter, comfortable operating in ambiguity

• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including coaching, developing and managing high-performing professionals.

  *Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the U.S. is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.