Project Study with Deloitte.
📌 Key facts
- When: Start anytime. Applications are open!
- How to apply: Send us an e-mail (as outlined at the end of this page).
💡 Background
Value creation in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) largely depends on the effectiveness of post-merger integration (PMI), the phase where strategic, operational, cultural and technological elements of two organizations are combined. Experience shows that while companies often excel at deal sourcing and due diligence, they struggle with PMI, which though is ultimately responsible for achieving both cost and revenue synergies. The rise of agentic AI, autonomous systems capable of planning, reasoning, and executing multi-step tasks, presents a significant shift for PMI. Agentic AI can operate continuously, adapt to changing contexts, and manage end-to-end workflows, making it well-suited to the coordination-heavy and data-intensive nature of integration. In addition, as enterprises shift from automation to autonomy, agentic systems are becoming central to next-generation operating models. In PMI, this positions agentic AI not only as a tool for efficiency but as a strategic capability that can materially accelerate and enhance value creation.
📚 Research Field
Going forward, the ability to capture value in M&A will depend more than ever on how effectively organizations integrate their operations and unlock synergies after the deal closes. At the same time, the emergence of agentic AI is reshaping the way companies manage this complex phase, offering new opportunities for automation, decision support, and autonomous workflow execution. But how can firms leverage these technologies to improve post-merger outcomes? Which integration activities stand to benefit most from agentic AI? How can agentic AI shape the target operating model? And ultimately, how should organizations position themselves to deploy agentic AI in a way that accelerates synergy realization, reduces execution risk, and redefines value creation in the next generation of M&A?
📄 Way of Working
We are looking for a team of 3-4 students who are willing to research and deep dive on the topic outlined above. A Deloitte team will guide and support you throughout the 4-5 months in delivering your graded project study and final presentation.
📝 How to Apply
If you are interested, please contact Dr. Marcus Pankow (mpankow@deloitte.de) and Julian Kaiser (julikaiser@deloitte.de) until 13 March 2026. Please submit your CV, grade report and briefly outline your Deloitte 2022 motivation and tentative research idea (research question and hypotheses) as a team. First Kick-off meeting is planned for 16 April 2026. We're looking forward to hearing more about you!