Smart Business Magazine, March 2018

26 Smart Business Pittsburgh March 2018 While fair and equitable pay practices are important for a good culture money isnt everything she says Employee upward mobility is key along with PTO volunteer opportunities and feeling fulfilled in your role This last one is the toughest to get right Townsend says Also in a leveraged buyout the investment firm needs to set expectations of the management team pre close in terms of frequency of communication board and budgeting requirements and annual management fees Im a fan of a lengthy sale process because you get to see how an investment firm behaves through the ups and downs of the process she says It will give you insight into their communication style going forward When asked what makes a business deal one that leads to substantial profit Herubins first words were people people and people His biggest M A mistake came from not fully appreciating the personalities and motivating factors of the employees and key management that remained posttransaction The numbers or qualitative analysis looked great but there was a delicate balance of personalities that the prior owner navigated and understood better than we did Several key employees left which negatively impacted the business until we were able to align our strategy with the existing team and culture Herubin says A S P I R E 2 0 1 8 C O N F E R E N C E P A N E L S P E A K E R S DENNIS G PRADO Main Street Capital Holdings LLC AUDREY RUSSO Pittsburgh Technology Council JOHN T WELSH BNY Mellon Wealth Management JOSEPH WOJCIK Huntington National Bank Wealth Management AspirePIT What are some common pitfalls associated with the M A process that youve seen people make and what suggestions do you have for others so they dont make the same mistakes You need an operating champion Acquisitions mandated from the corporate office fail without a hands on champion that makes sure the integration and strategic benefits are achieved Avoid deal fever take your time and be rational Every deal has to be strategic There can be great buys in terms of valuation but that is usually an indicator of problems PATRICK D DUGAN CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT WABTEC CORP INVESTORS DEALMAKERS ENTREPRENEURS