{"id":8225,"date":"2014-09-16T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2014\/09\/16\/building-a-plane-midflight\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:17:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:17:49","slug":"building-a-plane-midflight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2014\/09\/16\/building-a-plane-midflight\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Plane Midflight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Trevor Wirsig, MBA \u201815<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Trevor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using what I learned at Johnson to make an impact during my consulting internship.<\/p>\n

My project as a summer intern in Deloitte Consulting\u2019s mergers andacquisitions (M&A) practice was to assist a consumer packaged goods (CPG) companyas they split into two. People say that a merger of two companies is like amarriage: brought together in holy matrimony, going forth into new markets andmultiplying shareholder value. They\u2019ve got synergy to pay the bills.<\/p>\n\n

So splitting a company into two is like a divorce, right?<\/p>\n\n

Not exactly. During my internship I learned that a separation ismore like building two planes out of one, midflight.<\/p>\n\n

Why the change in metaphors? Because by simply \u201cdivorcing\u201d acompany destroys optimization and synergies, reducing shareholder value. Butthe purpose of a separation should be to increase<\/em>shareholder value.<\/p>\n\n

To do that, the new companies need to retain the optimization ofthe parent company, even while operating independently. Two new planes aseffective as the first.<\/p>\n\n

But a separation is even more complicated because essential functions,like procurement and finance, need to run uninterrupted while the operations ofthe parent company are disentangled. There\u2019s no time for a layover in Kansas.<\/p>\n\n

I admit that separating a company isn\u2019t nearly as impossible asbuilding a plane midflight, but I like the metaphor.<\/p>\n\n

So what impact does a summer intern make on the separationprocess? Surprisingly, more than I thought I could.<\/p>\n\n

I was asked to evaluate the effect of separation on a few hundred-milliondollars in cost savings initiatives that the client had announced to WallStreet. Even though I was only just learning the basics of M&A, the coursesI had taken at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management gave memore than enough foundation to be successful.<\/p>\n\n

For instance, marketing gave me the framework to understand theCPG space, Sustainable Global Enterprise (SGE) practicum showed me how tooutline a consulting project from start to finish, and Management Cases taughtme to always ask \u201cWhat keeps the CEO awake at night?\u201d so I stay focused on themost relevant issues.<\/p>\n\n

These courses shaped my analysis throughout the summer and helpedme develop an impactful final deliverable: a presentation for the board ofdirectors describing the implication of separation on the announced costsavings initiatives, and a recommendation for moving forward.<\/p>\n\n

In a way, it was my own version of building a plane midflight:joining an ongoing project, trying to learn as much as possible about M&Aand the separation process, all while developing a recommendation for theclient.<\/p>\n\n

I admit that it is not as impossible as building a planemidflight, but I still like the metaphor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Trevor Wirsig, MBA \u201815 Using what I learned at Johnson to make an impact during my consulting internship. My project as a summer intern in Deloitte Consulting\u2019s mergers andacquisitions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":8226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[199,200,180],"ppma_author":[],"class_list":["post-8225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-posts","tag-graduate-student","tag-immersions","tag-two-year-mba"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding a Plane Midflight - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Trevor Wirsig, MBA \u201815 Using what I learned at Johnson to make an impact during my consulting internship. 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