The first 100 days: How to use board meetings to deliver your post-merger plan

When a deal is finalised, the real work begins. Strategy needs to shift into execution, and post-merger plans come to life. For the board, the first 100 days offer a focused window to guide integration, strengthen accountability, and help define what success should really mean.

Board meetings in this phase are more than calendar fixtures. They set the tone for how progress is tracked, how issues are surfaced, and how aligned the organisation stays as teams navigate change. The right cadence, agenda, structure, and technology all help unlock early wins and avoid drift. 

In this article, you’ll learn: 

• The role of board meetings in delivering against a post-merger plan
• How to set the tone for success in your first post-deal boqrd meetings
• When boards should recalibrate their post-merger plans
• Ways to find the right cadence for success in post-deal delivery
• How technology can support better structure, accountability and follow-through. 

What role do board meetings play in delivering a post-merger plan? 

Once the ink dries on the deal, expectations shift quickly. Shareholders want to see momentum. Executives need space to lead. And employees look for signals of stability. The board’s role shifts from approving strategy to ensuring the post-merger plan is delivered.  

According to veteran M&A attorney, Aaron Hall, "During the post-merger integration phase, the board's oversight function shifts from evaluating strategic fit to certifying that the combined entity realizes projected synergies and achieves long-term success.” He continues, “This requires the board to concentrate on verifying a seamless integration process, which is vital to achieving the merger's strategic objectives.” 

In this climate, board meetings provide the structure for decision-makers to step back, assess progress, and ask the right questions, before small issues grow legs. They help steer the organisation through early uncertainty by keeping integration efforts aligned with strategic goals. 

Early board discussions influence the pace and direction of the integration, clarifying where the board adds the most value, whether by challenging assumptionsThey clarify where the board adds value, whether by challenging assumptions, tracking performance, or ensuring key risks are surfaced and acted on. Importantly, these meetings provide a consistent forum for senior leadership to recalibrate priorities as real-world challenges replace pre-deal planning. 

At a time when information is incomplete and pressure is high, a well-run board meeting brings rhythm and focus to the transition. 

What should the board focus on during the first (and second) post-deal meetings? 

The first board meeting post-deal is procedural by design. It marks the legal close, confirms governance structures, and formalises roles. While it rarely shapes strategy, it does set the tone. A clear agenda and expectations here create the conditions for meaningful oversight to follow. 

This is also the moment to agree how the board will engage in the months ahead. Decisions around cadence, reporting structures, and integration visibility are foundational. They ensure the board has what it needs to support leadership without overreaching. 

The second meeting carries a different weight. This is where the board moves from orientation to oversight. It’s the first chance to assess how the integration plan is unfolding, and whether there is alignment behind a shared direction.  

It’s also a chance to understand early performance against key performance metrics. As BDO explains, “While the Board will not be involved in the day‑to‑day integration execution, they should establish clear integration success criteria at the outset and require regular progress updates.”  

Key topics for the second meeting might include: 

• Updates on integration milestones and any early friction points 

• Review of short-term KPIs and progress on quick wins 

• Feedback from leadership on cultural alignment and capacity challenges 

• Clarification on how success will be measured and reported 

This second meeting shapes the rhythm of delivery. A well-run session can sharpen focus, reinforce accountability, and signal that pace and precision matter. A disorganised one risks inviting drift when the business can least afford it. 

What should the focus be after the second meeting?  

Between the formalities of the first meeting and the accountability of the second, what follows is a window for the board to stay close to the integration without micromanaging it. Increasingly, boards are playing a more active role in this phase, stepping beyond the traditional boundaries of governance. As a recent paper from KPMG confirms, “the long‑held view that the board’s role is limited to simply reviewing and concurring with management’s strategy is giving way to deeper board engagement.”  

During this period, the focus should shift to gathering signals, not just from the numbers, but from people. Integration is as much about momentum and morale as it is about execution. The board can add real value by asking the right questions, encouraging transparency, and ensuring early warning signs aren’t brushed aside. 

Key priorities in this phase: 

• Build trust with the leadership team: New relationships take time to bed in. One-to-one conversations between directors and key executives can help create space for honest dialogue outside the boardroom. 

• Check the pulse of integration: Are teams collaborating well? Where are decisions getting stuck? What’s slowing things down? These questions can reveal cultural or structural issues early on. 

• Support, don’t shadow: Oversight should not turn into micromanagement. This is about creating space for execution, while ensuring the board has enough insight to intervene when necessary. 

• Encourage clarity and communication: In times of change, silence is rarely a good sign. The board can encourage leadership to communicate consistently with employees, customers, and partners, and can model this in its own interactions. 

When should boards recalibrate their post-merger plan? 

By the two-month mark, the integration plan has typically moved from concept to contact. Teams are adjusting, plans are under pressure, and early decisions are starting to show consequences. 

For boards, this is a moment to listen more closely than usual. During this phase, the true extent of integration will become clear, which often extends beyond initial assumptions. As Kees van der Vleuten, CEO and serial board member explains, “Integration planning often focuses on what is actually the tip of the iceberg, but numerous threats to value creation lurk below the water line.” 

Recalibrating too late can cost momentum. Recalibrating too early can undermine confidence. But certain signals are too important to ignore. 

Here are three signs it’s time to use the board meeting as a trigger for recalibration: 

1. Progress looks busy, but not valuable 

Tasks are getting done, but nothing is shifting. If early board discussions reveal that the plan is being executed without impact, it's time to challenge whether the right outcomes are being prioritised.  

2. Silence where there should be noise 

When updates in board meetings become vague or superficial, that’s often a red flag. A lack of detail or challenge may suggest leaders are managing optics, not reality. Boards can press for specificity to bring hidden issues into view. 

3. Ownership is unclear 

Missed deadlines with a lack of accountability could be indicative of confusion, especially when it comes to ownership. What’s more, this could reinforce the need for greater clarity around reporting and decision-making, all of which will benefit from early attention, as left unmanaged this could derail a post-merger plan.  

Recalibration doesn’t require tearing up the plan. But board meetings offer a formal, structured space to pause, reflect, and refocus. They give leadership cover to speak openly and give the board the visibility it needs to ask the questions that drive meaningful course correction. 

How can technology strengthen post-merger board meetings? 

It’s day 45. The integration plan is moving, but updates are scattered, roles are fuzzy, and the board pack feels like it was built in a rush. Meetings lose focus. Decisions drag. Confidence dips. 

That’s not a technology problem, but the right technology could have prevented it. Here’s how:  

A single source of truth 

Board management software gives directors access to: 

• The same materials, in the same format, at the same time 

• Clear, structured agendas tied to the pace of the integration 

• Updates that track progress, not just activity 

• A full audit trail of decisions, ownership, and next steps 

No last-minute attachments. No version confusion. No side-channel updates. 

Focused meetings, sharper outcomes 

With better visibility comes better preparation. Board time is no longer spent searching for clarity. Instead, directors can focus on what matters: pressure-testing progress, supporting leadership, and keeping value delivery on track. 

Technology won’t tell the board what to do. But it creates the conditions for better judgement, better questions, and better meetings, which is exactly what post-merger execution depends on. 

Get the cadence of board meetings right for post-merger plan delivery 

There’s no perfect formula, but the wrong rhythm is easy to spot.  

Meetings that are too infrequent risk missing red flags. Meetings that come too fast can overwhelm leadership and muddy decisions. The aim is balance: enough touchpoints to steer progress, without getting in the way of it. 

Here’s a simple structure that many boards adopt during post-deal integration: 

• Week 1: Kickoff: Confirm structure, formalities and set expectations. Agree cadence, reporting format, and the board’s role in integration oversight. 
• Weeks 4–6: Strategic alignment: The second board meeting becomes the anchor point. Focus on early integration outcomes, leadership alignment, and operational traction. 
• Weeks 8–10: Recalibration checkpoint: A third session can be used to review KPI progress, test for delivery risks, and revisit ownership of key workstreams. 
• Week 12–14: 100-day outcome review: The final milestone in this period. The board reviews what has been delivered, what remains off-course, and whether the current structure supports longer-term value creation. 

This rhythm works when meetings aren’t just scheduled, but purposeful. Each session should build on the last, tracking actions, surfacing new priorities, and keeping the integration moving forward. 

Sherpany helps make this possible , offering the clarity, structure, and follow-through that fast-moving transitions demand. 

Ready to use board meetings to deliver your post-merger plan? 

The first 100 days after a deal are full of moving parts. Board meetings offer one of the few fixed points where progress can be tested, priorities can be sharpened, and leadership can reconnect around what matters. 

But structure doesn’t appear on its own. A strong cadence, supported by clear agendas, consistent information, and focused follow-up, is what turns board meetings into a mechanism for delivery, not just oversight. 

Sherpany helps boards do exactly that. From the first procedural meeting to the final 100-day review, our platform gives you the tools to stay informed, stay in sync, and stay one step ahead. 

Book a free consultation to find out how Sherpany can help your board deliver against your post-merger plan with impact.