Two merged businesses looked like one company on paper. We designed the model that makes it true in practice.
A year after the merger, two businesses were still running as two. The new data platform was about to make the decisions for them.
A PE-backed group had merged two established businesses in aviation finance: one editorial and advisory, the other data and analytics. Nearly a year on, they were still two organisations. Teams were split across three countries, product ownership was unclear and most capacity went on day-to-day throughput rather than building products.
At the same time, a new data platform was running about two months ahead of the organisation. It was being built without defined product scope, agreed data governance or a named owner for the transition, so decisions on product direction and data ownership were being forced before anyone owned them. The Managing Director asked us to design one operating model and close that gap.
A workshop-led engagement over about three months, run as one sequence so each stage shaped the next. Getting leaders across three countries into the same sessions set the pace.
We agreed the intent, design principles and non-negotiables with the leadership team first, so the direction couldn’t be reopened later. Then we based the design on evidence: interviews, product and service reviews across both businesses and a combined skills matrix, so the model reflected how the business works rather than how the org chart says it does.
Working sessions and live playbacks used deliberately rough drafts to push the leadership team into the real decisions on ownership and accountability. Finally we tested the model against the platform plans to confirm they fitted and to flag risks early.
One agreed operating model: five product lines with one accountable owner each, shared services with named owners and a Head of Product Portfolio as the point of escalation. Data is treated as a shared foundation rather than belonging to one product. Alongside it came a people and organisation design, a technology validation and a phased roadmap with decision gates.
The model went through eight versions and was signed off. The leadership team moved from reacting to the model to using it to make their own calls. Product direction and data ownership are now settled ahead of the platform, not after it. Implementation is under way.
We delivered this work alongside a delivery partner.
“The very foundation for our strategy to take the business forward.”
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