One Step Beyond: The Cadence Leadership Podcast artwork

Leading Acquisitions: The value of making it personal. Ep. 4

One Step Beyond: The Cadence Leadership Podcast

English - October 13, 2019 15:59 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
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On this episode of One Step Beyond, we chat with Alex Nguyen, SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development at FirstService about leading through acquisitions. Acquiring companies is not for the faint of heart and we uncover what has made Alex and his team so successful. We discuss best practices and challenges, then we flip the…

On this episode of One Step Beyond, we chat with Alex Nguyen, SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development at FirstService about leading through acquisitions. Acquiring companies is not for the faint of heart and we uncover what has made Alex and his team so successful. We discuss best practices and challenges, then we flip the script and get into Alex’s personal story and how that has informed his approach. Whether you’re familiar with this topic or it’s entirely new to you, this conversation will open your eyes to both the business side and the community minded, human side of Acquisitions.


On this episode we talk about:

Defining Acquisitions
Organic growth and growth through acquisitions
Challenges of merging company cultures
Culture clashes and integration challenges
Building the right team and the
The importance of being real and removing barriers.
The human approach to business and how leading in this way builds trust.
How to help companies make the transition.
Alex’s personal story and how that has shaped his approach

About our guest:


Alex Nguyen serves as Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy & Corporate Development for FirstService Corporation. In this role, Alex is responsible for driving acquisition growth across all of FirstService’s business platforms. He is also closely involved in the formulation and execution of the Company’s corporate strategy and growth initiatives. Since joining FirstService in 2008, Alex has led the acquisition of over 50 companies across a wide range of industries.


Alex is a CFA Charterholder and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University where he graduated With Distinction.


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