Integration & Separation Management
The operational engine that determines whether a deal actually delivers.
IMO and SMO are the program management structures that run an integration or carve-out from the inside. Krewe has led IMO work on multi-billion-dollar acquisitions between top-10 global financial institutions and SMO execution for a multinational insurer's divestiture. The work is the same regardless of deal size: design the workstream structure, run the governance cadence, and keep the deal thesis from slipping in execution.
When this applies
Two structures. One program management discipline.
Integration (IMO)
A deal has closed or is approaching close and needs a structured program office to coordinate workstreams across functions, track synergies, and manage the governance cadence between two organizations that have never operated together. The integration thesis is only as good as the execution infrastructure behind it.
Separation (SMO)
A business unit, division, or entity is being carved out or divested and needs a structured office to manage separation workstreams, negotiate and manage TSAs, and plan the wind-down of shared infrastructure. Separation complexity is almost always underestimated — shared systems, people, and costs don't disentangle cleanly or quickly.
What Krewe does
Running the program — not just advising on it.
Integration (IMO)
- Design the integration workstream structure — functional owners, interdependencies, sequencing, and governance model across both organizations
- Build and run the integration management cadence: steering committee rhythm, workstream lead check-ins, and escalation protocols
- Track synergy capture against the deal model — financial and operational — with accountability at the workstream level
- Manage cross-workstream dependencies and integration risks before they become execution failures
- Coordinate the timeline from Day 1 planning through hypercare and into BAU transition, including exit criteria for each phase
Separation (SMO)
- Design the separation workstream structure across legal, financial, operational, and technology dimensions
- Negotiate and manage transition service agreements (TSAs) — scope, pricing, duration, and exit milestones on terms that protect the separated entity
- Plan and track the stranded cost impact across shared services and infrastructure — what the seller absorbs and over what timeline
- Manage separation risk and dependencies through close and into the post-separation period, including information-barrier and data-governance requirements
- Coordinate between buyer and seller teams on shared systems access, HR and benefits transitions, and operational continuity during the separation window
What it produces
The infrastructure the deal runs on.
IMO/SMO charter and workstream structure
Documented workstream ownership, scope, interdependencies, and governance model agreed between both organizations.
Integration or separation management cadence
Meeting structure, reporting templates, and escalation protocols that run the program from signing through BAU.
Synergy or separation tracking model
Financial and operational tracking against the deal thesis — whether value capture or stranded cost reduction.
Integration playbook
Documented process and lessons learned that become the corporate standard for future acquisitions or divestitures.
Krewe typically engages at or before signing, with the heaviest work running from Day 1 planning through hypercare and into BAU stabilization. Integration playbooks built during Krewe engagements have been adopted as the corporate standard for future acquisitions at Fortune 500 scale.
Other M&A capabilities
Managing an integration or separation?
Share where the deal is and what the program office situation looks like. Krewe can step in at signing, at close, or at any point where the current structure isn't working.