Groupe diversifié / Post-M&AEnterpriseDuration: 6 mois (phase 1)

AI governance and data rationalization after an acquisition — European enterprise

European group post-M&A, 8,000+ employees, multi-country

Results

critical data assets documented and secured

13→6

tools rationalized (−€500K/year in licenses)

100%

AI Act coverage on identified use cases

board-ready decision packs delivered

Challenge

After acquiring a European competitor, the group was left with 2 ERPs, 3 CRMs,

5 BI tools, and no consolidated performance view. Shadow AI was endemic: 60%+

of teams were using ChatGPT and Copilot without a framework, with customer and

financial data. The CDO had just been appointed and needed a senior peer to

structure a credible plan for the board in a complex political context

(2 company cultures, 4 countries).

Approach

1
Month 1: Data maturity audit across both entities — scoring on 8 dimensions, identifying 47 critical undocumented data assets, tool mapping
Maturity AuditorValue ArchitectGovernance Officer
2
Month 1-2: Shadow AI audit — inventory of unauthorized AI usage, risk classification (GDPR, AI Act, IP), interviews with 25 managers
Maturity AuditorValue ArchitectGovernance Officer
3
Month 2-3: AI policy deployed across both entities — acceptable use charter, LLM gateway with DLP, AI Act-compliant risk register
Maturity AuditorValue ArchitectGovernance Officer
4
Month 3-4: Unified data roadmap — prioritization of 22 use cases by impact × feasibility, tool rationalization plan (from 13 to 6), 18-month budget
Maturity AuditorValue ArchitectGovernance Officer
5
Month 4-5: 3 decision packs presented to the board — financial consolidation, unified sales pipeline, AI governance
Maturity AuditorValue ArchitectGovernance Officer
6
Month 5-6: Launch of first 3 workstreams + handover to internal CDO with sustainable governance framework
Maturity AuditorValue ArchitectGovernance Officer

Testimonial

“I had just been appointed CDO in a tense post-acquisition context. Having a senior peer who understands both large-group politics AND data technology saved me 6 months. The 3 decision packs were approved on the first board pass.”

Chief Data Officer — Groupe européen, secteur industriel diversifié