Product needs to own the M&A agenda
The end of the EBITDA playbook
In my recent conversations with Chief Product Officers, I’m seeing a real disconnect between the product function and finance. Finance has always owned corporate development. The logic made sense: buy EBITDA-positive, profitable mid-market companies to improve your numbers. But those companies are not adopting AI fast enough.
Product leaders see this clearly. They’re watching massive amounts of innovation that is going to disrupt those companies. So the product organization needs to do three things:
See everything. If your M&A scouting is limited to your known competitive set, you’re already behind.
Pick winners immediately. The best product organizations are moving to partnership and investment before the rest of the market even knows a company exists.
Turn product builders into product investors. The signal-gathering has to be distributed across the organization.
The companies that put product at the center of their M&A strategy will have a structural advantage over the ones still letting finance lead. If this resonates with you, I'd love to chat. Please reach out or tag me on Linkedin with your take.
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