Why the CEO’s Voice Matters in the First 90 Days After an Acquisition

Short Answer:

The CEO’s voice is the most powerful tool in the first 90 days after an acquisition because it defines the deal’s purpose, reduces uncertainty, and aligns both organizations around a shared future—directly impacting retention, customer confidence, and value realization.

TL;DR – What CEOs Must Do in the First 90 Days

• Use the CEO voice to turn integration into a strategic value driver rather than a cost-reduction exercise.
• Communicate early to shape culture, expectations, and momentum.
• Act as both chief strategist and chief storyteller across the merged organization.
• Pair transparency with action—credibility is built by what leaders do, not just what they say.
• Track human signals (attrition, trust, engagement) alongside financial metrics.

The CEO’s Voice Is the Most Powerful Tool in the First 90 Days After an Acquisition

I recently had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion in New York, The 90-Day Sprint: Unlocking Value in Post-M&A Integration, with my esteemed colleagues, Lynda Clarizio, Michael Alicea, and Dr. D Sangeeta. The most impactful point made was the criticality of the CEO’s voice and leadership. Here is a summary of our conversation.

A CEO’s voice is the most powerful integration tool after a deal closes. Only the CEO can clearly explain the “why” behind the integration, tell a compelling future story, and model behaviors that align both organizations. When the vision is vague, delayed, or delegated, fear fills the vacuum, top talent walks, and deal model numbers quickly become fiction.

Why Does the CEO’s Voice Matter After an Acquisition?

After an acquisition, employees and customers are both excited and anxious, making them highly attentive to leadership’s messaging. As Sangeeta noted, “people are excited, and they’re anxious also, and you’ve got to address this sooner than let it simmer.”

• If the CEO does not promptly explain the deal’s significance, attention fades. Without clear direction, the integration stalls and business objectives may be missed.
• In silence, people write their own narrative: “If you don’t want to do anything, why did you acquire the company?” or “You’re cooking something up behind the scenes, and you’re not telling me. So, I’m going to go because I don’t like this.”

A compelling vision should directly answer three key questions: clarify the acquisition’s purpose, describe the expected benefits, and outline the immediate changes all stakeholders will experience.

• Why did we decide to buy this specific company, and why now?
• What specific changes will customers, employees, and the market experience in the upcoming one to two years?
• How will our behaviors and decision-making reflect our newly formed company starting immediately, rather than sometime in the future?

Without this clarity, integration becomes a project management exercise focused on checklists and cost reductions, rather than a strategic initiative that inspires commitment.

Michael described supporting the integration of two cybersecurity companies by anchoring on customer stories. “We kept coming back to our purpose and vision. You want to protect your grandmother from losing her money to a scammer, and so do we.”

What Should CEOs Communicate on Day One After an Acquisition?

The first 90 days set the initial impression for new ownership and culture, with the CEO’s communication establishing the tone. Michael stated, “The first 90 days allow you to really set the stage for what the ownership and the ongoing culture are going to look like.”

The CEO’s day one storytelling should do three things:

• State the promise to customers. Michael has observed the best results when “the CEO gets involved, sends a personal letter to each of the clients and says, ‘We’re making this acquisition because we want to provide greater capabilities on behalf of you.”
• Clearly communicate the benefits to employees. Sangeeta emphasized that leaders should explain “how it helps them, what’s in it for them, how they get more growth opportunities as a result of this,” while being transparent that “redundant jobs will be reduced.”
• Connect the deal to a clear future state. That vision needs to show how the acquisition changes “how you’re going to serve the customer,” “how it impacts the employee,” and “how the valuation of the company changes.”

Delaying communication is risky. As Lynda noted, a CEO who hesitates is “losing momentum” and increasing anxiety and attrition.

The CEO Integration Communication Framework (First 90 Days)

High-performing CEOs consistently do five things in the first 90 days post-acquisition:

1. Explain why the deal happened and why it matters now.
2. Describe the future state for customers, employees, and the business.
3. Acknowledge uncertainty without creating fear.
4. Reinforce the message through visible actions, not just words.
5. Ensure a clear execution plan.

Why is the CEO’s Role as Chief Storyteller Critical for M&A Integrations?

Most integrations fail not in the spreadsheet, but in the stories people tell themselves about what the future holds and who will be part of it. This makes the CEO both chief strategist and chief storyteller across the two merged cultures.

Several moments in the discussion highlight how narrative can heal or harm:

• Michael described the worst narrative as “We want to crush the beautiful snowflake as soon as we get it,” where a distinctive business gets forced into the acquirer’s mold immediately. In contrast, his “best company” framing starts by telling the acquired team: “You have talent that we don’t have…you’re going to make all of us better,” which feels radically different than “Sarah’s in charge of marketing, you’re gonna get direction from her.”
• Lynda shared how one of her companies, where she is on the board of directors, uses a “bean bag chair room” where, every week, acquired leaders come together to “have it out” in a structured way, which she likened to “therapy” that keeps communication open and lets the new company feel heard instead of ignored.
• Sangeeta’s GE story shows storytelling through behavior: she told the acquired employees, “If you have problems with your paycheck, here is my cell phone number. Call me,” then backed it up with advanced testing of payroll systems so there was only one defect, and it was fixed within 24 hours.

In each example, actions reinforce the message that we are building the future together and that you matter.

How Can CEOs Build Trust Through Honest and Transparent Communication?

The most damaging stories post‑deal are those where the CEO’s promises do not match reality.  Michael has “worked for many CEOs” who told acquired founders, “You’re going to have free rein. You can do whatever you want,” then privately said, “I want to fire them all. I want to integrate you.”

That gap destroys trust at speed:

• “Ultimately, people just feel like they were lied to,” Michael said, stressing that “people are adults, right? You must be honest.”
• Lynda sees similar distortion around earn‑outs, where sellers “project out” optimistically to maximize price, whereas acquirers are “built with a lot more skepticism,” and both sides end up “almost building in friction that’s not necessary.”
• On boards, she notes, management often comes back with a narrative that a deal was “a great buy,” while “there were actually no numbers attached” to the promised benefits, making it impossible to know “whether we have a corporate development strategy that works or doesn’t work.”

A disciplined CEO narrative does the opposite:

• It clearly articulates the business case up front: why we bought, what value we expect, and how we will measure success.
• It treats offboarding and transition with the same intentionality as onboarding, recognizing that alumni shape the brand in the market.
• It welcomes criticism in town halls and “ask me anything” sessions, because shutting people down in public Q&A kills psychological safety and forces dissent into the shadows.

The CEO’s job is not to spin a happy story; it is to narrate the reality and the path forward in a way people can trust, even when the message is hard.

What Are the Most Effective CEO Actions in the First 90 Days Post-Merger?

Translating this into a practical playbook, several concrete moves emerge that hinge on CEO level vision and storytelling.

• Align the top team’s story before taking it to the organization. When a CEO and COO disagree (integrate immediately vs. wait), Sangeeta argues “the leaders have to get on the same page,” and the way to do that is to “work backwards from the customer and backwards from the revenue you’re going to make.”
• Co‑create and share an integration plan early. Lynda is “a big, big believer in M&A integration plans” and insists the acquired leadership “should provide input into the integration plan,” comparing it to marriage: “If you don’t tell someone when getting married what they’re getting themselves into, you’re probably going to end up divorced.”
• Stage integration based on the deal’s logic, not internal convenience. Michael typically integrates G&A right away, but “everything else gets tiered based on why you bought the business,” especially when there are complementary client sets or adjacent capabilities.
• Invest in dedicated integration capacity. Lynda warns that too many CEOs “just say to people who are working on other things, now you’re going to do M&A integration,” even though “this is a big project,” and that if you lack internal capability “you do need to bring in help…because if you don’t, you’re going to totally [__] this up.”
• Monitor the human metrics as closely as the financials. Early signals like employee attrition, customer churn, and compensation or title friction tell you whether the story is working or failing, long before the financial numbers show up in a board deck.

What Is the CEO’s Role in Making Post-Merger Integration Successful?

In summary, a CEO’s vision, open communication, and aligned actions are central to moving two companies forward as one.

CEOs: seize the first 90 days to actively communicate a clear, credible, and human vision—backed by visible actions. Use this window to unify both organizations with purpose and momentum, or risk leaving the integration to chance. Act now: craft the story, live it visibly, and lead from Day One.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why is it so critical for the CEO to be the Chief Storyteller for the integration?

Employees and customers do not look to their direct manager for proof of intent; they look to the top. Research also shows that CEOs who personally communicate during integration are 2.5x more likely to exceed deal goals, as they alone can align strategy, resolve escalated decisions, and embody the future state.

2. What if the CEO does not have all the answers?

No CEO has every answer on Day 1—uncertainty is inevitable. Hidden hurdles, such as talent gaps, tech mismatches, or decision-making differences, surface over time. Success comes from transparency about knowns and unknowns. The CEO can frame the uncertainty as joint discovery: “Here is our 90-day plan, but we will learn and adjust as needed. Our commitment is to keep you informed every step along the way.”

3. Isn’t it better to wait for a while and let the two companies run business as usual until the time is right for integration?

Waiting for the “right time” kills momentum and invites failure, as excitement quickly turns to anxiety and talent flight in weeks. While exceptions exist for adjacent businesses, even in these cases, integrating back-office functions is important for controlling leverage. Ultimately, postponing forfeits the “excited and anxious” window when people crave change.

4. What if the CEO does not want to have an “ask me anything” session?

Reluctance to face unfiltered Q&A stems from fear of surprise,s but skipping it erodes psychological safety and drives dissent underground. You can counter this with structured transparency: bi‑weekly newsletters that name tough changes (paycheck dates, email unification) to eliminate surprises.​ In addition, CEOs who model vulnerability retain 95% of key talent.

5. Why is the CEO’s voice in the first 90 days the most important?

Based on this panel’s experience, prolonged uncertainty and poor communication post-merger drive employee turnover, particularly after the initial 90-day window when early excitement fades and reality sets in.

6. What Is the CEO’s Role in Post-Merger Integration?

The CEO’s role in post-merger integration is to communicate the strategic intent of the deal, align leadership around a shared narrative, reduce uncertainty through transparent communication, and ensure ownership to drive successful integration execution.