Maelia Nicolay (SKEMA 2012), M&A Club Ambassador

Could you briefly tell us about your career since graduating from SKEMA Business School and what motivated you to become an ambassador for the M&A Club?

After several years in a consulting firm (Deloitte) and in corporate M&A in a CAC40 company, I joined the Constellation Software group, within the Omegro portfolio, to head up M&A operations in Europe.

I'm delighted to be an ambassador for the M&A Club, as we're going to be able to bring together alumni working in the same sector to discuss common issues and share our experiences.

How do you plan to energize and enliven the M&A Club of which you are the ambassador? Could you share a few ideas for events or initiatives you'd like to put in place?

The idea of this club is to develop a network among alumni of the profession, as there are very few of us in this profession within companies (small teams) and at SKEMA more generally. We'll be organizing a variety of events, including experience-sharing and round-table discussions, talks by experts in the field (financial, legal, tax, integration, etc.), and meetings with other M&A clubs (from other schools or other professional clubs).

What message would you like to pass on to alumni to encourage them to join and become actively involved in the M&A Club?

M&A is a constantly evolving profession, both in financial terms (valuation, deal structures) and operational terms (acquisition strategies, integration issues). It's important and very interesting to share with your peers to learn about their approaches, and brainstorm on what's being done in other structures or abroad.