What does an M&A IT integration cost?
The integration readiness assessment is a fixed fee from CHF 28,000 and takes three weeks. Running the integration programme through to cut-over is charged at CHF 2,000 per day. Total cost depends on the number of users, applications and legal entities involved. The assessment produces a cost envelope you can defend to the board before you commit to delivery.
What is a TSA and why does it drive integration cost?
A Transition Services Agreement is the contract under which the seller keeps providing IT and other services to the buyer for a defined period after closing. Every month the integration runs late, the TSA has to be extended — typically CHF 50,000 to CHF 150,000 per month, on top of delayed synergies. The TSA exit date is therefore the single most expensive variable in a post-merger IT plan, and the reason the readiness assessment pays for itself.
Do you work outside Switzerland?
Yes. Mandates run internationally and are delivered in English by default — the working language of most global programmes, and the one my previous roles ran in across more than 60 countries. Beyond that, German, Spanish or Portuguese are available where a local team works faster in its own language. Delivered examples include a 1,400-user integration in Colombia and business continuity leadership across India, Germany and Mexico. Steering committees can be run in the local language while board reporting stays in English or German — which removes the translation layer where most cross-border programmes lose time.
What languages do you work in?
German as native language, fluent English, advanced Spanish and advanced Portuguese. In cross-border integrations the failure point is rarely technology. It is language, time zone and working culture, and it shows up as decisions that take three weeks instead of three days.
Do you do the work yourself or bring a team?
The work is done personally. There is no engagement pyramid and no junior team learning on your budget. Where additional capacity is needed it comes from your own organisation, which is also how the capability stays in-house after the mandate ends.
How long does an AI use case take to reach production?
The use-case portfolio takes four weeks and produces a scored list with a calculated annual value per case. One selected use case then goes to production within 90 days, including governance, measurement and an adoption plan. Most portfolios shrink to one or two serious candidates — that is the intended outcome, not a failure of the exercise.
What does “human in the loop” mean in practice?
It means deciding, case by case, where the model acts on its own and where a person reviews or signs off before anything is committed. The rule of thumb is the cost of being wrong: low-value, high-volume steps run automatically, while exceptions, financial commitments and anything a regulator or auditor could ask about keep a named human approver. Every checkpoint is documented, so the process is defensible after the fact — not just fast.
What if my program is already red?
A ten-day diagnostic reconstructs scope, cost curve and dependencies through interviews across the delivery line, and produces three costed options for the steering committee: stop, re-cut or push through. Interim program leadership is available afterwards, but it is not a condition of the diagnostic. Sometimes the honest recommendation is that you already have the right people and need a different decision, not a different leader.
How quickly can you start?
One mandate is taken at a time; next availability on request. A first conversation of 30 minutes is free and results in a straight answer on scope, timing and price — including whether the engagement is a fit at all. A written proposal follows within five working days.
