The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit

Kick off the Summit with Kison Patel, CEO and Founder of DealRoom and M&A Science, as he shares why Buyer-Led M&A™ is transforming the way deals are done. Kison will outline the five pillars of Buyer-Led M&A™, highlight common pitfalls in the traditional seller-driven process, and show how leading dealmakers are building scalable, repeatable strategies that deliver post-close value.

Join us for a dynamic, audience-driven conversation featuring corporate development and M&A leaders, including Khouloud Cheriqi, VP of M&A at Quadient and Matt Melsen Director, Corporate Development at SPS Commerce. This isn’t a one-way panel—your input will shape the discussion.

Through live polls and audience questions, the panel will cover the full front half of the M&A lifecycle—from sourcing and strategy to diligence—sharing candid perspectives, practical strategies, and lessons learned from years in the trenches. Whether you’re refining your sourcing approach, evaluating targets, or navigating diligence under pressure, you’ll walk away with fresh insights you can apply immediately.

Join M&A Science host Kison Patel for a candid, unfiltered conversation with Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street, in this special live podcast recording. Over 75 minutes, they’ll dig into Keith’s dealmaking journey—exploring real-world wins, hard-learned lessons, and the strategies that have shaped his approach to M&A.

From sourcing to integration, you’ll get a rare inside look at how an experienced corporate development leader thinks about building value, avoiding common pitfalls, and navigating complex transactions. The discussion will tie directly to Buyer-Led M&A™ principles, giving you actionable insights to bring back to your own deals.

Attendees will also have the chance to hear the conversation before it goes live to the M&A Science audience—and participate in a post-recording Q&A with the speakers.

In M&A, the handoff from diligence to integration is often where deals lose momentum—or worse, lose value entirely. In this session, Stephanie C. Young, Director of Portfolio Management at Isolved will share how bringing integration into the conversation early can make or break a deal.

Drawing on real-life wins and cautionary tales, she’ll show how synchronized diligence and integration—the third pillar of Buyer-Led M&A™—keeps teams aligned, accelerates execution, and ensures the value you identified in diligence is actually realized post-close.

Whether you’re on the deal team or the integration side, you’ll leave with practical strategies to break down silos, build momentum, and set your deals up for long-term success.

Hannah Jarrett recaps the day’s top takeaways and how attendees can put Buyer-Led M&A™ principles into action in their own organizations.