In this edition of the Strategy Leadership Series, Marc Berman shares insights from his extensive career in management consulting, reflecting on the evolution of merger integration, cultural transformation, and the role of agile methodologies in an increasingly dynamic business environment. With a wealth of experience navigating leadership challenges, he highlights the critical importance of placing people at the heart of transformation to drive meaningful and lasting change.
With nearly three decades in consulting, Berman has worked across a broad range of strategic projects, including his early involvement in the 2009 Cadbury merger – an experience that introduced him to the complexities of M&A. Over time, his focus expanded beyond transactional execution to include organisational structure, team dynamics, and the realisation of both revenue and cost synergies.
“Much of my work has come by accident,” he reflects. “I was thrown into leading a team on the Cadbury merger – my first real taste of how mergers work. Since then, I’ve been involved in over 20 integrations, and I found myself increasingly drawn to the people-related aspects: how teams come together, how organisations manage change, and how real value is unlocked beyond the financials.”
While strategy formulation is often seen as the core challenge, Berman argues that execution is where the real complexity lies. “Strategy without a clear understanding of execution is just words on a page,” he says. “You have to work in tandem on what’s doable, at what pace, and with which teams.”
Technology continues to play a central role in transformation initiatives, particularly in system integrations, data-driven decision-making, and process optimisation. However, Berman emphasises that sustainable change cannot be achieved through technology alone. “With a tech-driven integration, you might end up aligning systems while neglecting the people,” he explains. “But true transformation is about empowering people to make the right decisions quickly.”
For Berman, the most successful organisations recognise that technology is an enabler, not a substitute for leadership, decision-making, and accountability. “The heart of transformation is about managing accountabilities, risk-taking, and real-time decision-making,” he says. “People come first, and technology supports that.”
Cultural integration remains one of the most overlooked aspects of M&A. Too often, organisations approach it superficially, either treating it as a compliance exercise or overcomplicating it to the point where it becomes ineffective. “Many companies either pay mere lip service to culture—running workshops and drafting values—or they overdo it and create a lot of noise without substance,” Berman explains.
The real challenge, he says, lies in what happens at the ‘moments of truth’—the critical decision points where teams must navigate the realities of working together. “During an integration, you need to focus on managing the fault lines: testing new ways of working, making decisions collaboratively, and learning in real time. That’s where the culture is really defined, not in a set of slides or a town hall session.”
Rather than imposing culture as an abstract concept, organisations need to embed it in the way people work together from day one. “You can’t force culture into an integration—it just doesn’t work,” he says. “You have to let it emerge by focusing on behaviours, decision-making processes, and how teams interact. Once the dust settles and the right people are in place, you can start to shape what the culture will become, but trying to dictate it from the outset rarely succeeds.”
Berman sees three common approaches to cultural transformation: as a standalone initiative, as part of a broader operating model shift, or embedded within M&A. “About half of the cultural work I’ve been involved in has been within integrations, and that’s where the challenge is the greatest—merging two or more different cultures that have operated in entirely different ways,” he explains.
While external advisors can provide valuable frameworks, tools, and digital nudges to reinforce change, long-term success depends on leadership ownership. “We can set up the framework, tools, and even digital nudges to support change,” he says, “but ultimately, the organisation must own the process. Culture is shaped by the way people behave every day, and that has to come from within.”
Cultural change is not something that happens overnight. While early-stage programmes can be rolled out in a matter of months, real transformation requires sustained effort over several years, with commitment from leadership at every level. “You can launch a culture programme in three months, but if it stops there, it’s just paperwork,” Berman explains. “Real cultural change is a multi-year journey that needs buy-in from the CEO, the board, and leadership throughout the organisation.”
Leadership transitions can introduce complexity, but Berman is clear that they rarely disrupt culture entirely – provided the governance framework remains strong. “It’s rare to see a wholesale culture change just because of a new leader,” he says. “Often, the board’s longer-term perspective helps maintain continuity. Leaders might tweak initiatives, but the underlying values typically persist if the board and leadership remain committed.”
Looking ahead, Berman sees agility as an underutilised lever for competitive advantage. Too many organisations still view agile methodologies as exclusive to IT and product development, rather than as a broader business discipline. “Agile methodologies unlock speed, customer intimacy, and cross-functional collaboration, which many companies still underestimate,” he says. “It’s not just about software teams working in sprints—it’s about how quickly an organisation can adapt, how well teams collaborate, and how effectively decisions are made.”
Another major opportunity, he believes, lies in how organisations use their own workforce data. “Companies often talk about customer data, but they don’t do the same for their own people,” he points out. “Understanding who excels at what and deploying talent accordingly can be a massive productivity unlock. If businesses took a more strategic approach to internal data – mapping skills, tracking performance in different environments, and using those insights to make better decisions – they’d see huge gains.”
Despite advancements in AI and automation, the human element remains central to consulting and strategic execution. While AI can accelerate analysis and improve decision-support capabilities, it does not replace the nuanced judgment, adaptability, and leadership required to implement change effectively. “AI can certainly help you come up with answers faster,” Berman notes, “but it doesn’t necessarily help you implement them. It’s a tool for analysis, not a substitute for the human element in decision-making.”
The most successful organisations will be those that harness technology as an enabler while maintaining a sharp focus on human capital and execution discipline. Berman cautions against relying on AI as a silver bullet for transformation, emphasising that the real value comes from blending AI-driven insights with leadership intuition and strategic execution.
For Berman, leadership is less about having all the answers and more about asking the right questions. “Leadership is more about listening than talking,” he says. “Often, the ability to ask the right question is far more valuable than providing the right answer.”
He also rejects the idea of a single leadership mould, emphasising that effectiveness comes from self-awareness rather than conformity. “There isn’t one way to be a leader,” he explains. “You have to play to your strengths, improve where you can, and recognise that you won’t be great at everything. It’s your unique combination of skills that makes you effective.”
