This Is M&A Podcast

Dealmaking without the B.S.Designed for the decision-makers navigating complex, high-stakes transactions, This is M&A is your front-row seat to the real world of mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and strategic moves.Whether you’re a CEO, founder, corporate development leader, or senior executive, this podcast is for you.

This Is M&A Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Steven Monterroso, with 25 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Steven Monterroso hosts This Is M&A Podcast, a business show with 25 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #25

  Bad Surprises Kill Deals: What Closes Life Sciences & Medtech M&A w/ Gregg Blake | This Is M&A

  Aug 13, 202637 min

  Most medtech deals that stall were already in trouble before the process started. In this episode of This Is M&A, Gregg Blake, Managing Director in Healthcare Investment Banking at CapM Advisors, breaks down what separates deals that close from deals that die: how to build for a premium exit 2 to 3 years out, what hidden risks quietly kill momentum, and how to run a sell-side process that actually extracts maximum value at the finish line. Gregg Blake is a Managing Director at CapM Advisors, based in New York. He has been advising clients worldwide in healthcare, life science, and medical technology for over 20 years. He founded Brocair, a dedicated healthcare corporate finance advisor, in 2004 and ran it for over a decade before merging it with Bryan Garnier, where he co-led the healthcare practice. CapM Advisors has completed M&A transactions totaling over $51 billion. In this episode, you will learn: ⚡️ What the best companies do 2 to 3 years before exit to position for a premium outcome ⚡️ Why customer concentration and CEO dependency quietly destroy deal value before a buyer ever shows up ⚡️ How to control the diligence narrative before a buyer controls it for you ⚡️ Why running your own QofE before going to market is non-negotiable ⚡️ How competitive tension in a sell-side process added 25% to one deal's value in 36 hours ⚡️ When scientific risk kills life science deals versus when commercial risk is the real threat Learn more about Gregg Blake and CapM Advisors: Website: https://cap-m.com LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/greggblake/ Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/ Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/ Want to become our next guest? Sign up: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/ Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify. Chapter Markers 00:00 — Meet Gregg Blake, M&A Insider 02:36 — Build the Exit Before It Exists 06:22 — Who You Take Money From Matters 11:03 — Capital Structure Can Kill Your Exit 14:05 — Why Deals Stall (And How to Stop It) 18:33 — Science Risk vs. Commercial Risk 21:30 — Management Red Flags Buyers Notice 23:44 — Creating Competitive Tension to Win 33:40 — Long-Term Relationships Drive Deals 39:45 — How to Reach Gregg Blake #thisismapodcast #mna #medtech #lifesciences #healthcareinvestmentbanking #exitplanning #founders #duediligence #middlemarket #dealstructure

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  Episode #24

  Technical Debt Is Killing Your PE Returns w/ Dave Mangot | This Is M&A

  Jul 29, 202654 min

  Most PE investors never look at the engineering organization. That blind spot is costing them. Dave Mangot, author of DevOps Patterns for Private Equity and founder and CEO at Mangoteque, joins This Is M&A to explain how DORA metrics translate into investor outcomes, why technical debt quietly destroys EBITDA, and what breaks in the first 100 days post-close. A DevOps veteran, he has successfully led digital, SRE, and DevOps transformations at Salesforce, SolarWinds, and Cable and Wireless. In this episode, you will learn: ⚡️ What DORA metrics actually signal about business health — and what to listen for when your CTO presents them ⚡️ How technical debt inflates COGS and destroys EBITDA before it shows up on a financial statement ⚡️ Why AI amplifies existing engineering problems instead of fixing them ⚡️ Why not integrating engineering teams post-acquisition is the costliest PE mistake ⚡️ What engineering alpha means and how multi-tenant SaaS architecture drives EBITDA margin Learn more about Dave Mangot and Mangoteque: Website: https://mangoteque.com Blog: https://blog.mangoteque.com Podcast: https://engineeringalpha.fm LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dmangot/ Email: dave@mangoteque.com Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/ Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/ Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/ Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Meet Dave Mangot of Mangoteque 01:21 — Engineering's Hidden Role in PE Value 05:21 — Technical Debt Is Killing Your Margins 09:28 — Moneyball: More At-Bats, More Growth 15:52 — DORA Metrics Decoded for Investors 22:11 — Speed vs. Quality? Both. Here's Why 29:26 — When the CTO's Vision Stalls Out 35:36 — Acquisitions That Freeze Product Delivery 41:50 — Engineering Alpha: The EBITDA Multiplier 48:10 — How to Reach Dave and Final Takeaways #thisismapodcast #mna #privateequity #devops #technicaldebt #softwarevaluation #exitplanning #engineeringalpha

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  Episode #23

  Growth Isn't Value with Mike de Windt | This Is M&A

  Jul 15, 20261h 12m

  Most privately held business owners believe growing revenue automatically makes their company more valuable. Buyers disagree. And that gap is exactly where deals get discounted. In this episode of This Is M&A, Mike de Windt, Managing Director of Strategic Advisory at Carleton McKenna & Company, breaks down what actually drives shareholder value in founder-led and family-owned businesses, the hidden levers sophisticated buyers price into every deal, and why applying private equity discipline before you ever think about selling is the highest-leverage move any owner can make. Mike brings over 30 years of experience across private equity, operating leadership, and strategic advisory. He was the founder and CEO of Gates Group Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based PE firm with over $300 million in capital under management and more than $850 million in aggregate enterprise value across realized investments. He also founded Grand River Industries and served on the corporate development team at NACCO Industries. Today at Carleton McKenna, he works directly with founder-led and family businesses to close the gap between where they are and what buyers will actually pay a premium for. In this episode, you will learn: ⚡️ Why revenue growth without margin expansion and cash flow conversion can actually reduce your valuation in the eyes of buyers ⚡️ The three-legged stool of value creation: strategy, scalable business model, and repeatable, predictable economics ⚡️ What the hidden levers really are: quality of earnings, pricing discipline, management incentive alignment, and reducing key person dependence ⚡️ Why the annual operating plan is a core management tool, not a box to check for your lender ⚡️ How to build a business that gives you real optionality: sell, recap, or keep growing on your terms Learn more about Mike de Windt and Carleton McKenna & Company: Website: https://www.carletonmckenna.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedewindt/ Email: emd@carletonmckenna.com Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/ Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/ Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/ Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify. Timestamps 00:00 — Intro: Meet Mike de Windt 03:01 — Growth Isn't Value: Here's Why 06:10 — How Mike Sizes Up a New Client 13:47 — Getting Your House in Order First 22:16 — The Three-Legged Stool of Value Creation 30:25 — Hidden Levers Buyers Actually Pay For 41:48 — Why Most Companies Skip the AOP 50:00 — Running the Business Like You'll Sell It 57:58 — Founders vs. Professional Management 01:05:08 — Mike's Path and How to Reach Him #thisismapodcast #mna #privateequity #exitplanning #lowermiddlemarket #shareholdervalue #ebitda #founderstories #mnadvisory #operationalexcellence

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  Episode #22

  Why 95% of AI Investments Fail with Lisa Davis | This Is M&A

  Jul 1, 202657 min

  Most companies are failing at AI. Not because the technology is broken, but because the organization is not ready for it. In this episode of This Is M&A, Lisa Davis, Founder and CEO of Davis Core Advisory, breaks down why 95% of enterprises show no ROI on AI adoption, what leaders are getting wrong about digital transformation, and how executives can build the kind of organization that is actually ready for what comes next. Lisa is a CIO Hall of Fame inductee with over 30 years of leadership across defense, government, healthcare, and technology. She served as EVP and CIO of Blue Shield of California, where she led digital transformation for a $24 billion nonprofit health plan. Prior to that she managed an $8 billion P&L as VP and GM at Intel, and held CIO roles at Georgetown University, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Defense. She currently serves on the boards of Movius and 3Strands Global Foundation and is an Executive in Residence at Progress Partners. In this episode, you will learn: ⚡️ Why 95% of enterprises see zero ROI on AI and the three root causes behind the number ⚡️ What CEOs and CIOs consistently get wrong when leading digital transformation ⚡️ How to define and build a portfolio career before you need one ⚡️ The five-year rule for landing a board seat and why 80% of board seats come from your network ⚡️ What modern boards are still missing and why CIOs belong at the table 🔗 Learn more about Lisa Davis and Davis Core Advisory: Website: https://daviscoreadvisory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-davis-cio/ 🔗 Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/ Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/ Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/ Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify. #thisismapodcast #mna #digitaltransformation #artificialintelligence #leadership #boardroom #cio #womeninstem

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  Episode #21

  Building and Selling a Winning Business w/ Pete Moore | This Is M&A

  Jun 17, 202646 min

  Most founders treat selling their business like selling milk at the grocery store. Pete Moore has spent 20 years watching that mindset cost founders millions. In this episode of This Is M&A, Pete Moore, Founder and Managing Partner of Integrity Square, breaks down what it actually takes to build a business worth buying: the playbook, the team, the fourth quarter, and the one line every founder needs to hear before they hire an advisor. Pete has driven M&A in the wellness and active lifestyle space for over two decades. He founded Integrity Square, a boutique advisory and seed investment firm focused on the HALO sector, which stands for Health, Active Lifestyle and Outdoors. He previously closed over $1.5B in deals at Sagent Advisors, co-founded Iron Planet which sold to Ritchie Bros. for $758M, hosts the HALO Talks podcast, runs the HALO Academy, and wrote Time to Win Again: 52 Takeaways from Team Sports to Ensure Your Business Success. In this episode, you will learn: ✔️ Why every business is really just solving a frustration someone will pay for ✔️ How the right playbook and the right team create value buyers pay a premium for ✔️ Why sharing real financials with your team builds the alignment that survives a sale process ✔️ What the 4th quarter of a deal actually looks like and how to keep your best people through close ✔️ Why silence is the death knell of relationships during a transaction Learn more about Pete Moore and Integrity Square: Website: https://integritysq.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/peteymo/ Email: pete@integritysq.com Connect with your host, Steven Monterroso: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/determined2succeed/ Follow This Is M&A Podcast on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/this-is-m-a/ Want to become our next guest? Sign up or subscribe: https://sharevault.com/this-is-ma/ Listen now on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Chapter Markers 00:00 — "I'm Not Your F***ing Vendor" 01:01 — Meet Pete Moore, HALO deal maker 05:40 — Every business solves a frustration 10:06 — Building the winning playbook 14:47 — Draft right, crockpot your managers 25:30 — The client is never the idiot 29:44 — You're entering a rollercoaster with no seatbelt 34:25 — Fourth quarter: close the deal or lose everything 40:38 — The mentors who built Pete Moore 43:35 — Where to find Pete #thisismapodcast #mna #exitplanning #founders #halosector #wellness #privateequity #middlemarket

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