EY Advisory acquires HR M&A consultancy Tasman Consulting
EY has acquired US-based Human Resources M&A advisory firm Tasman Consulting, hiring most of Tasman's team as well. As part of the deal, Shari Yocum and Niki Lee, co-founders of Tasman Consulting and former Cisco executives, have become principal members in EY’s People Advisory Services (PAS) transactions practice.
Tasman Consulting was founded in in 2011 after Shari Yocum and Niki Lee left executive positions in Cisco’s M&A department to start their own business advisory. At Cisco, Yocum led the HR M&A organisation, where she held a key role in building the next generation of the company’s integration strategy, while Lee was Director of HR M&A, where she also worked with executives to build Cisco’s acquisition strategy and model for post-acquisition integration.
They launched Tasman Consulting with the goal of helping clients better manage the people side of transactions. Service offerings they have since inception provided include due diligence, operations integration, total rewards, organisation design, talent strategy, HR operations and systems, change management, culture services and program management support. “We advise clients that cultural fit and skill match are critical for a successful acquisition,” reflects Lee. Last year Tasman Consulting won the ‘M&A Service Of The Year’ award from M&A Advisors.
Over the past years Silicon Valley-based Tasman Consulting worked closely together with EY on two significant transactions, and based on the success of the cooperation, the Big Four giant has decided to pick up the boutique advisor. “Niki and I weighed all options before making the decision for our organisation to join EY,” says Yocum, adding that the cultural match proved decisive. “EY’s focus on exceptional client service, and the desire to add deep industry experience matches our philosophy.” Lee adds: “EY has an outstanding team and is committed to growing their transactions and broader People practice. We knew it was a good fit.”
With the move, EY bolsters its HR M&A capabilities, and also also aims at becoming a major M&A player in Silicon Valley, with Tasman’s local connections and knowledge able to help make that happen. Clients Tasman Consulting worked for include American Express, LinkedIn, Dell, Twitter, Salesforce, eBay, Lenovo, Autodesk and Cisco.
George Brooks, EY Americas PAS Leader at EY, comments “We look forward to offering our clients the added depth that the Tasman team brings.”
A recent study conducted by EY PAS in the Benelux found that HR tech investments are on the rise – the trend is driven by the adoption of digital technologies and changing operating models in the HR function.
