Also at Cornell Tech New York
M&A Academy | September 15 & 16
Join the Institute at the start of the week for the M&A Academy, an in-depth course that covers best practices in the deal process from strategy development through closing
Delivering Strong Transactions
M&A Conference at Cornell Tech New York
SEPTEMBER 16 & 17, 2026
$2,000 | $0 for Members Learn About All Access Membership Accounts
Exclusively for Corporate M&A Professionals
This prestigious annual M&A conference assembles corporate development leaders, in-house M&A and antitrust counsel, integration teams, and private equity investors to discuss current challenges impacting complex transactions and consider innovative methods for improving the deal process and M&A performance.
The cross-disciplinary agenda will be unpacked by a diverse speaking faculty from various industries and roles, who will share first-hand experiences, best practices, and guidance on delivering high performing transactions.
DAY ONE AGENDA
Wednesday September 16, 2026
Welcome Lunch | 12:00 - 12:55
Opening Remarks on M&A Performance Improvement | 1:00 - 1:10
William Jefferson Black, Executive Director, Transaction Advisors Institute.
Strengthening M&A Readiness for Volatility | 1:10 - 2:00
M&A activity is showing signs of strength in 2025, with market participants anticipating a future with less turmoil and greater clarity on macroeconomic conditions. This lively opening discussion will unpack the key current considerations facing corporate M&A teams as they pursue strategic transactions. Discussion topics will include: How are corporate M&A teams modeling and addressing the impact of tariffs and trade wars? Will an easing of protectionist policymaking and geopolitical tensions stimulate cross-border M&A, which represented a third of global M&A volume last year? How has uncertainty surrounding long and often delayed closings factored into dealmakers' financial and strategic assessments? Can more sophisticated mechanisms be employed at the outset to ensure M&A performance post-close?
Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles | 2:15 - 3:05
Corporate M&A teams anticipated a less aggressive stance from federal antitrust agencies regarding M&A enforcement. However, new questions have emerged. How have the current administration's views on antitrust and M&A harms evolved? What best practices have developed to meet the new HSR requirements, which mandate the disclosure of deal rationale and past (even unreported) acquisitions? Should we expect a further increase in structural remedies and concern over roadmapping? How should political and policy objectives be integrated into M&A strategy? Are additional actions necessary for non-reportable deals? How are the new EU merger guidelines developing? How much additional scrutiny should corporate M&A teams anticipate from state attorneys general?
Executing In-depth Human Capital Diligence | 3:25 - 4:15
How can the diligence process adapt to recent shifts in immigration policy and intense competition for high-value talent? Are there new approaches for diligence on financial, legal, and compliance matters, including expenses and liabilities, in the post-FCPA era? When should the post-close operating model for growth and change post-close be stress-tested? What level of precision is realistic for identifying disruptive employees and unresolved people-related issues within a target company? How are corporate M&A teams leveraging technology-enabled screening applications to conduct due diligence on the target workforce?
Using AI in Corporate M&A | 4:30 - 5:20
The promise that AI can accelerate and improve the M&A process has been discussed during the past year. We’re now seeing corporate M&A teams actually embrace AI. This session will look at specific use cases for AI in M&A with guidance on best practices. Discussion topics will include: How are corporate M&A teams using AI to enhance early target filtering and screening? What specific steps have proven effective for AI reviews of diligence? Can AI be used for accurate synergy analysis? Are contract reviews providing savings and improved understanding of the target? How can integration planning and execution be accelerated and improved with AI?
Wine Reception & Dinner | 5:30 - 7:00
The robust discussions will continue during the wine reception and dinner.
DAY TWO AGENDA
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Welcome Breakfast | 8:15 - 9:00
Start the day with a robust breakfast buffet as you connect with other corporate M&A professionals.
Negotiating Optimal Dealpoints | 9:00 - 9:50
Corporate M&A teams are seeing signs of growth, but the need for careful and creative transaction structuring has become more acute. This opening session will consider a range of current practices and questions including: What recent changes in the architecture of M&A agreements are coming under the microscope during negotiations? How do you view the strength of various closing conditions? Is it possible to engineer outside dates, efforts provisions, reverse break fees, and other deal points to work in concert? What can dealmakers do to improve the negotiation process and speed?
Calibrating Protective Mechanisms | 10:00 - 10:30
How are corporate M&A teams using transactional insurance at various stages of the deal process? What are the current best practices to ensure coordination with diligence findings, known issues, and negotiation schedules? How should M&A teams evaluate coverage levels, caps, exclusions, retention, long-tail representations, premium ranges, and other essential terms? Where do holdbacks and other protections bridge risk allocation gaps? What critical decisions are required to be made during the process to effectively place transactional insurance protections?
Designing Retention Agreements | 10:30 - 11:00
What benchmarks are being used to design executive compensation and benefit programs? How can retention milestones be effectively engineered to align with value creation? What are the most effective mechanisms for aligning incentives among stakeholders? Has the use of restrictive covenants and non-competes changed in light of recent legal scrutiny and changes in policy? How should corporate M&A teams optimize earn-outs and contingent consideration?
Framing the Integration Plan | 11:15 - 12:15
What’s the optimal level of engagement with the target in developing the integration thesis? What positive and negative synergies are often missed in deal models and discovered during integration? How do you enhance visibility on sources of value across revenue, costs, talent, and technology? What techniques can be employed to ensure momentum in the businesses during integration? Are there ways to head off unrealistic change initiatives during the post-close period? When should a modified integration approach be considered (standalone, partial integration, or full integration)?
Lunch | 12:15 - 1:00
Strengthening Shareholder Engagement and M&A Governance | 1:00 - 1:50
How are companies that are pursuing M&A employing highly calibrated shareholder engagement and governance approaches to get deals approved? How should corporate M&A teams collaborate on shareholder messaging and outreach strategies? What methods can be used to proactively tailor transactions to account for labor considerations, which have generated attention in a number of recent transactions (such as U.S. Steel/Nippon)? Are boards being targeted by activists for missed M&A opportunities? How are activists challenging past M&A successes? Should we anticipate an increase in hostile and unsolicited transactions, which constituted ~11% of global M&A activity in 2024? What can be learned from recent high-stakes situations that attracted activists, including 'wolf-pack' attacks with divergent demands? What are the current and evolving practices in takeover defense and readiness, especially given that one in four campaigns advocates for divestitures?
Engineering the Divestiture Process | 2:10 - 3:00
How are the most effective corporate development teams evaluating and preparing for divestitures? Are there insights from the wave of activist campaigns pushing for divestitures? What are the key steps for running an optimal separation process? What are the key governance decisions that need to be considered when executing carve-out sales, spin-offs, and hybrid structures? Are the recent calls for 'corporate clarity' a fad or a trend that also shapes the buy-side strategy?
Developing and Dissolving a Joint Venture | 3:15- 4:05
What are the critical strategy decisions that should be made before forming a joint venture, including common capital structures with their associated rights? How should leadership team incentives, transfers, and secondments be utilized to drive value? Are effective financial controls and audit rights necessarily unique to each JV? Are auctions, shoot-outs, or other structures effective wind-down mechanisms?
Building a High-performing M&A Team | 4:20 - 5:20
This lively and highly interactive closing keynote session will provide a rare opportunity to consider the optimal structure of the corporate M&A team. Discussion topics include; performance incentives, career paths, recruiting approaches, and skill development.
Inspired by a long-term study that showed a direct correlation between highly-skilled M&A teams and deal performance, this member-driven roundtable will consider approaches for building and leading corporate development, M&A legal, and integration professionals, including performance measurements and even incentives for abandoning bad deals.
Closing Reception | 5:20 - 6:00
The Institute is an accredited provider of CPE and CLE in Illinois. This M&A Conference offers 9 CLE credits and 11 CPE credits. An Illinois certificate will be issued. If you are licensed in another state, please check for reciprocity regarding continuing education credits.
M&A Intelligence
Program Materials
Participants will receive both digital and print materials with more than 100 charts with information on recent shifts in deal volume, negotiation points, and best practices, including the selection below
Exclusively for Corporate M&A Professionals
M&A Conference at Cornell Tech New York
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
12:00pm - 7:30pm EST
Thursday, September 17, 2026
8:15am - 5:00pm EST
$2,000 | $0 for Members Learn About Membership Accounts
Registration is not open to M&A consultants, advisors, vendors, or members of the media. Unqualified registrations will be canceled and refunded, less a $100 bank processing fee.