Associate Director Post Merger Integration Lead

About the role

As Associate Director-Post Merger Integration Lead at Cognizant in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, you will maximize the value of Cognizant's inorganic growth strategy by driving end-to-end post-merger integration initiatives. You will engage early in the deal lifecycle, partnering with stakeholders during due diligence to understand investment theses, assess operational risks, develop integration strategies, and lead execution across multiple functions. Working closely with senior leaders, business units, and acquired organizations, you will ensure seamless integration and successful realization of acquisition objectives. This is a hybrid position requiring attendance at a Cognizant office and/or client location as determined by business needs.

What you’ll do

• Lead the development and execution of integration strategies that align stakeholders around the deal thesis and value-creation objectives.
• Build, manage, and continuously optimize integration master plans, budgets, and synergy tracking mechanisms to ensure successful acquisition outcomes.
• Collaborate across functions and business units to identify, manage, and resolve cross-functional dependencies, risks, and operational challenges.
• Communicate integration goals, priorities, progress, and risks effectively to senior executives, steering committees, boards, and broader stakeholder groups.
• Inspire, motivate, and align integration workstream leaders and teams to achieve shared goals, maintain momentum, and successfully deliver integration milestones.

What you’ll bring

• 5+ years of experience leading teams and executing post-merger integration programs and M&A integration activities.
• MBA or relevant graduate degree from a top-tier institution, or equivalent professional and academic experience.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex programs involving multiple workstreams and diverse stakeholder groups.
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to balance high-level vision and detailed execution.
• Excellent communication, leadership, influencing, and relationship-building skills with experience engaging senior executives.
• Proven ability to work effectively in fast-paced, high-performance environments with competing priorities.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize initiatives and drive results through others.

Skills

Education

MBA or relevant graduate degree from a top-tier institution, or equivalent professional and academic experience.