PPL - Home of the M&A People Integration Playbook

PE investors and SME founders need sharp, senior expertise that delivers value fast.

That’s why PPL exists.

We’re built to ensure deals deliver real and lasting value:
✅ Precision in people integration
✅ Speed at deal pace
✅ Real-world outcomes, not theory

From diligence to post-deal integration, we lead the people side of M&A so investors protect value and founders scale with confidence. Through ppl.io, we share the playbooks, tools, and insights that turn people risk into people value.

The deal model justifies the investment.
The people deliver the returns.
And PPL is the smarter alternative.

Founder & Principal

CUBE

CUBE is a global AI RegTech business setting the gold standard for regulatory change in financial services.

I act as the primary advisor on people risk, integration strategy, and change leadership, and led all People Integration workstreams across 17 countries following CUBE’s acquisitions of Thomson Reuters (thomsonreuters.com), Reg-Room (reg-room.com), and Acin (acin.com).

Key Achievements:
- Delivered complex, concurrent people integration programmes across carve-out and acquisition environments.
- Scaled CUBE from 450 to 720 people, and from 11 to 22 countries.
- Designed and implemented a global benefits review, aligning packages across 5 regions to upper-quartile benchmarks.
- Led multiple TUPE consultations in the UK.
- Replaced incumbent Employer of Record (EOR) with GoGlobal across 12 countries.
- Established a new US PEO with ADP, significantly enhancing healthcare and benefits for existing and acquired employees.
- Partnered with executive leadership to define the post-merger operating model and org design, ensuring role clarity and alignment across 3 acquisitions.
- Set up a new employing entity in the Philippines, enabling CUBE to directly employ talent from recent acquisitions.

"Dylan played a key role in ensuring our integration with CUBE was a success. He built a strong and trusting partnership with our HR team, kept communication productive and timely, and made sure employee feedback was acted on. Thanks to Dylan’s approach, important commitments were honored, employees felt supported, and retention remained strong throughout the process."
👏 'Confidential', HR Director, Thomson Reuters

M&A People Integration Lead

Better Hiring Institute (BHI)

The Better Hiring Institute exists to transform the UK labour market by bringing in a revolution in the way the UK hires staff. Working with UK Government the Better Hiring Institute has developed Better Hiring Toolkits to cover 80% of the UK workforce, a Better Hiring Charter to transform fairness in UK Hiring and runs the Modernising Employment APPG in Parliament.

Expert Panel Member - Faster & Future

AxeTrading

AxeTrading is a global provider of Fixed Income trading solutions, which provides access to all major fixed income trading venues, and offers customisable pricing and quote management, and automated workflow tools.  Following its acquisition in 2023, AxeTrading is now part of Trading Technologies, provider of the world's leading professional futures trading platform.

"Dylan was instrumental in helping AxeTrading's Board to understand the legacy management issues, guided the Board with regards to leadership transition at the Company, and executed with integrity and action throughout the restructuring and acquisition programme."
👏 Farooq Jaffrey, Fintech Venture Capital Investments

"As COO, Dylan steered AxeTrading through a difficult time when there were changes at executive level.  Dylan worked closely with the CEO to implement a turnaround strategy and successfully positioned the company for its successful acquisition by Trading Technologies."
👏 Mark Rodrigues, Venture Partner, Illuminate Financial

My varied role included:
- Hired, mentored and embedded entire new C-suite
- Managed the successful acquisition of AxeTrading by Trading Technologies in March 2023
- Closed AxeTrading's German entity, successfully transitioning all development capability to new external partners in Brazil, Europe & Indonesia
- Worked closely with shareholders to raise new Convertible Loan Note funding & establish clear Board governance 
- Led AxeTrading's People, Talent, Operations, Strategic Partnerships, Legal & Compliance functions
- AxeTrading’s Company Secretary & Chief Information Security Officer

Chief People & Operations Officer

Board Member

HR Director (via PPL)

Barclays

Led an accelerated high-profile people change programme across the US, UK and India

Workforce Programme Manager

FNZ Group

FNZ Group is the fastest growing FinTech firm in the world and the market leader in the provision of technology and investment services to major financial institutions in the platform and wealth management sector. Responsible for over £1.5 trillion assets-under-administration, held by over 20 million customers of some of the world’s largest financial institutions. 

Reporting to the Group Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) my role partnered with FNZ’s leadership team to embed behaviours and HR processes to motivate and empower over 1,100 colleagues across the UK, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, South Africa, Hong Kong, US, and China. 

Historically a PE backed scaling FinTech Unicorn FNZ is a high-growth, regulated technology and services supplier to large, global, established Financial Services organisations which achieved a £1.7bn sale valuation in 2018.

• Re-established HR business partnering model with HR as trusted and credible advisors and implemented a single HR and Talent team model to embed the business partnering approach.
• Led significant large-scale organisational change and multiple TUPE programmes via mergers, acquisitions and services transfer.
• Introduced FNZ as a new employer to multiple countries across EMEA.
• Partnered with senior leaders to maintain the fun elements of start-up culture whilst also balancing that against the needs of delivering HR and Talent projects within a regulated FS environment.
• Introduced brand new global Employee Recognition scheme allowing colleagues and clients the opportunity to nominate employees for either cash awards, team experiences or new technology.
• Delivered the successful implementation of Workday as the new global HR and Talent system across 15 countries and consolidated payroll providers across EMEA.
• Oversaw all HR matters relating to employee relations and engagement, improving retention and increasing internal development and Talent opportunities for colleagues.

Human Resources Director

Reported to the Group Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO).  This role combined responsibility for all Talent, Resourcing, Learning and Development cycles across the Group ensuring that people at all levels developed the skills, knowledge and experiences to fulfil the Group’s short and long term Talent agenda.

Historically a PE backed scaling FinTech Unicorn FNZ is a high-growth, regulated technology and services supplier to large, global, established Financial Services organisations. 

• Partnered regional leaders to develop and embed a robust Talent Strategy.
• Conceived and implemented FNZ’s new group Talent, Performance Management and Succession Planning model – ‘GO FAR’ (Goals, Objectives, Feedback, Assessment and Recognition).
• Developed and implemented regulatory focused Talent, Learning and Development programmes.
• Implemented direct sourcing across the Group with direct hires improving from 10% to over 80% in 6 months.

Group Head of Talent

NatWest Group

Reported to Group TS Chief Operating Officer.  Set RBS Technology Services Resourcing policy including operational delivery of permanent, contract and temporary recruitment via direct channels, third party suppliers and managed service vendors.

•	Designed and implemented new HR operating model improving team capability and performance.
•	Contract manager for 600+ UK contractors.
•	Implemented new vendor model reducing contractor margin costs by over £1m/annum.

Global Head of Resourcing, Technology Services

Reported to HR Chief Operating Officer (HR COO).  Initially a contract role, working closely with HR experts across dedicated teams to improve business engagement and HR effectiveness

Group HR Operations

The HEINEKEN Company

Head of Resourcing, Europe

Resourcing Manager - Integrated Supply & Trading

People & HR Director || Technology Start-Ups & Scale-Ups

Stop overpaying big consultancies for average integration results.

M&A isn’t just a financial deal. It’s a human one, and when the people side gets overlooked, even the best strategy can unravel. Yet time and again, I see PE investors and founders leaving the most critical part of integration to chance (or to the wrong advisors).

Big consultancies will sell you armies of juniors and endless slide decks. Specialists often lack the depth to deliver globally, at deal pace. Both can be costly mistakes.

That’s why I built PPL, the home of the M&A People Integration Playbook.

PPL exists to replace the old model with something sharper:

✅ HR Due Diligence → Spotting risks, talent gaps & liabilities early
✅ Leadership & Culture Integration → Aligning the people behind the business
✅ Retention & Change → Keeping your best people engaged and moving forward

I’ve led people strategies across high-growth scale-ups, international acquisitions, and PE/VC-backed businesses. The pattern is clear: when people integration works, deals deliver. When it doesn’t, value leaks.

👉 At PPL, we make M&A human, scalable, and successful, so founders and investors can unlock the returns their deal models promised.

If you’re about to invest, acquire, or integrate, then let’s talk. There’s a smarter way to do this.

===========================================

"In an extremely fast moving and challenging environment, Dylan joined the Integration Team leading the People, Culture and Comms workstream of 200 people from Reg-Room and Thompson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence into CUBE. He hit the ground running, prioritising and delivering urgent and strategic requirements from his first morning."
- Andrew Scola, M&A Integration and Carve-out Expert -- ex Deloitte, PwC

"What Dylan doesn't know about M&A you could write on your toe nail!  He is super knowledgeable, knows his way around M&A like the back of his hand and is SUPER patient. He is objective, thoughtful and puts the employees first - always."
- Elinor Brett, FCIPD, Interim CPO/HR Director

"Dylan guided the Board with regards to leadership transition at the Company, and executed with integrity and action throughout the restructuring and acquisition programme."
- Farooq Jaffrey, Fintech Venture Capital Investments

"As COO, Dylan worked closely with the CEO to implement a turnaround strategy and successfully positioned the company for its successful acquisition by Trading Technologies."
- Mark Rodrigues, Venture Partner, Illuminate Financial

===========================================

Dylan Roberts

Didn’t expect this… but I’ve been named one of the 30 men to follow in M&A this International Men’s Day.

What didn’t surprise me?
🌟 That the industry is finally waking up to one simple truth:

>>>> Deals don’t fail because of spreadsheets.
>>>> They fail because of people.

That’s why I show up here.

Not for recognition, but because founders and investors keep getting sold “integration” that ignores the humans who actually make the deal work.

If my posts help even a few teams navigate M&A without losing their culture, their leaders, or their sanity… then it’s worth it.

Appreciate the shoutout Thomas, now back to championing the people side of M&A.

#MergersAndAcquisitions #PeopleIntegration #PrivateEquity #InternationalMensDay

https://lnkd.in/e3c2xrEW

Available for New Contracts Jan 2026 | M&A People Integration Expert | HRi Innovation Award Winner 2025 | Founder @ ppl.io | Turning People Risk into Deal Value

Helping B2B Leaders Make Smarter Market Decisions with Consulting-Driven Analyses. Research That Prepares You for Tomorrow’s Market.

Happy International Men’s Day! 
Best of Male LinkedIn: Strategy, M&A & Investments 
 
Let’s be honest for a second:
We talk a lot about equality (as we should).

We celebrate Women’s Day (as we must).
But today?
Today the spotlight shifts.
 
Back in March, we created a special edition for International Women’s Day.
Now it’s time to give the men their moment - 
not with ego, not with noise…
…but with impact.
 
Because International Men’s Day isn’t just “another day.”

It’s about role models who show up,

health that often gets ignored,

and the ongoing hustle for real equality - 
for everyone.
 
So here’s something I’m really excited about:
 
The “Best of LinkedIn: Men’s Day Edition"
We curated 30 men to follow in each category - in:
- Private Equity
- M&A
- Strategy & Consulting, and 
- Venture Capital
 
Not because of titles.

Not because of hype.
But because they consistently show up on LinkedIn with
real insights, real expertise, real value.
You know… the stuff that actually makes LinkedIn worth opening : )
 
Enjoy the read - and take good care of yourself!
And to everyone who shares thoughtful, honest content in these fields: Thanks for bringing real insight to a platform that often rewards everything but.

View newsletter: Strategy, M&A & Investments

Hello Everyone, Happy International Men's Day! Equality is crucial to us! Back in March, we created a special edition for International Women’s Day. N

Open article: Best of Linkedin: Strategy, M&A & Investments - 30 Men to Follow by Thomas Allgeyer • 13 min read

Best of Linkedin: Strategy, M&A & Investments - 30 Men to Follow

⏰ A date for your diary!

I'm excited to be a part of this panel on 3 December, talking about how to manage HR complexity in cross-border M&A including entity timing, employment models, compliance pitfalls and talent retention during transition. 

#hr #mergers #acquisitions #people

https://lnkd.in/ejZs-VRS

On December 3, we're hosting a webinar on how to manage HR complexity in cross-border M&A including entity timing, employment models, compliance pitfalls and talent retention during transition.

You’ll hear firsthand from experts who have guided carve-outs globally:
🌍 Andrew Lindquist, GoGlobal
🌍 Sariah Lutkin, GoGlobal
🌍 Chuck Moritt, Mercer
🌍 Dylan Roberts, PPL - Home of the M&A People Integration Playbook

If you’re involved in deal execution, integration, HR or transformation, this session will give you clarity — and a roadmap 🗺️

https://lnkd.in/g5_G--NF

#GoGlobal #Mercer #PPL #HR #MergersAndAcquisitions

🌟 Reminder that I will be joining this brilliant group of people for a fireside chat on all things People in M&A next Wednesday!

https://lnkd.in/e5nXsyy4

🚨 ⏰  4PM TODAY (UK)

I'm excited to be a part of this panel this afternoon, talking about how to manage HR complexity in cross-border M&A including entity timing, employment models, compliance pitfalls and talent retention during transition. 

#hr #mergers #acquisitions #people

Register here --- https://lnkd.in/ejZs-VRS

axetrading

pplio

pricewood

myhr-club

qrota

li_at

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Talks about #culture, #startups, #investors, #leadership, and #humanresources

🚨 🚨 🚨 Breaking News: Labour backs down on ‘Day One Unfair Dismissal’ in the Employment Rights Bill

The government has stepped back from its plan to give workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one.

Instead, protection will now apply after 6 months, following pressure from business groups and resistance in the House of Lords.

What’s still due from April 2026
✔️ Day-one sick pay
✔️ Day-one paternity leave

What’s changed from the manifesto commitment?
❌ Immediate unfair dismissal protection
✅ Replaced with a 6-month qualifying period

A clear shift in one of Labour’s headline employment reforms, and another reminder that bold policy rarely survives contact with political reality.

Practi

As CEO, I led the creation of this corporate venture (a partnership with Simplyhealth), from initial ideation and business case development, to a fully operational, revenue-generative business.

Practi is a technology-driven platform designed to simplify patient finance and subscription plans for dental practices. By integrating cutting-edge financial technology and a premium user experience, we empower healthcare professionals to offer flexible, affordable payment solutions that improve patient access to care while driving practice growth.

• Strategic Leadership: Defined and executed Practi's strategy to disrupt the patient finance and dental plans space, positioning the company as a market leader.

• Product Innovation: Led the development and launch of a patient-centric finance platform, integrating cutting-edge solutions to meet the needs of healthcare professionals and patients.

• Commercial Growth: Built a high-performance culture, recruiting a team that has driven significant growth, achieving post-revenue success in our first year of operating.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Partnered with Simplyhealth’s leadership to leverage its resources, while maintaining the agility and delivery pace of a start-up.

• Operational Excellence: Established scalable processes and a robust operational infrastructure to support sustainable future growth.

This challenge has combined the entrepreneurial intensity of a start-up, with the strategic alignment of a corporate partnership. It has deepened my expertise in scaling businesses, managing board-level stakeholders, and driving value creation.

Chief Executive Officer

Boardwave

Boardwave's high powered networking platform brings together our brilliant software leaders to meet, discuss, debate, share best practice and be mentors to each other, in order that together we can turbo charge the growth of European Software

Member

Arcturus Ventures

•  Advisory services for VC & PE-backed businesses

Managing Partner

• Asked by the Chief Digital & Technology Officer to set-up an internal consulting unit to take Agile, Product & Design thinking out across the GSK enterprise, starting with the Clinical Development Org

• Successfully ran a series of pilots that resulted in reducing our clinical development cycle time by 100's of days, precipitating the adoption of Agile across Global Clinical Operations

• Responsible for the driving the shift from project-based to a product-centric development model, including the complete redevelopment of our Product Taxonomy, Operating Model, Talent Strategy and Skills Development agenda

Senior Director - Product Strategy & Head of Agile Transformation

• Hired to bring cohesion to the Digital Strategy & Technology Innovation Portfolio

• Supported the Chief Digital & Technology Officer on the development Digital Strategy and supporting white papers for the board

• Behind the scenes work to align stakeholders, secure budget, drive new initiatives

Senior Director - Digital, Data & Analytics Transformation

• Brought in to structure how the Commercial organisation would implement Agile marketing squads

• Designed operating model for all Therapy Areas with hybrid teams across 4 continents

• Worked with stakeholders to streamline a new US product-launch using lean start-up techniques

Freelance Consultant - Technology Transformation & Product Strategy

ComparaOnline.com

• P&L leader and digital product owner of ComparaMejor.com

• Successfully scaled and ran company from founding team to 130 permanent FTEs over 3 years

• Accountable for all ATL & BTL marketing spend achieving their efficiency targets

• Appointment and management of all agency relationships (Brand, Creative, Digital, Research, etc)

Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer (Acquired by ComparaOnline)

Hibu

• Launched hibu’s new flagship product in the US/UK, generating £82.8m new revenue in FY15

• Designed and drove the review & planning cadence of a portfolio worth £445m

• Grew the Online Channel team from 5 to 36 people over 9 months

Global Director, Digital Transformation & Product Portfolio Management

Deloitte

• Led E2E digital strategy engagement for new entrant to the UK retail banking market

• Led CRM & Marketing Automation vendor selection for a global magazine publisher

• Developed the target operating model and organisational design of Deloitte Digital (US, UK & Aus)

Senior Consultant & Engagement Manager

News Corp

• Redesigned sales funnels improving conversion 350% & delivering £2.1m in incremental revenue

• Designed testing schedule for all NI Paywalls to optimise conversion (A/B and MVT)

• Led integration of Amex and Paypal payments into paywall model

Customer Experience Manager (Contract)

HSBC

• Led the strategic redesign of the ‘Premier’ Experience in Digital for the UK bank

• Developed the 3 year Digital Roadmap for HSBC UK (inc. Social & Mobile)

• Instigated adoption of UK content across all HSBC global regions, lowering costs by ~£1.5m GBP pa

• Managed 3rd party agency relationships providing design/consultancy services to HSBC

Digital Experience Manager

Lloyds Banking Group

• Led redesign of Halifax.co.uk managing a multi-disciplinary project team of 25

• Delivered the Graduate customer attraction & retention strategy for Credit Cards

• Marketing analysis for NPD and Revenue Enhancement teams to maximise NPV

Graduate Leadership Development Programme

I’m a CEO with a passion for transforming businesses, building high-performing teams, and delivering exceptional results in often challenging circumstances. I’ve spent my career scaling ventures from the ground up, turning-around businesses, driving growth, and unlocking value for investors.

Commercially astute and market-focused, I believe that strong cultures are the foundation of long-term value creation. I take pride in nurturing environments where people can do the best work of their lives, combining big-picture vision with the operational detail needed to scale businesses effectively.

My leadership style is rooted in a balance of philosophy and action - I challenge conventional thinking and inspire teams to achieve extraordinary outcomes. 

At Practi, I've had the great pleasure of partnering with Simplyhealth to build a completely new, high-growth venture from the zero-to-one. We're building the FinTech for UK Healthcare, at a time when both Healthcare Professionals and Patients need it most.


Entrepreneurship, Venture Building, Start-Ups, Scale-Ups, P&L Management, Leadership, Coaching, Customer Development, Product/Service Design, Portfolio Management, Strategy, Culture Building, Programme/Project Management, eCommerce, GTM Strategy, Business Development, Venture Capital, Private Equity

Joss Duggan

💡 Culture is the operating system your 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 company runs on...

So when I hear people say that “𝘏𝘙 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦”, I know immediately that something fundamental is wrong in that company. There are only two acceptable answers to the question of: "𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦?"

a) Everyone.
b) The CEO.

The former is a decent answer, but the latter is the correct one.

When a CEO isn’t actively shaping how the organisation thinks, behaves, and makes decisions, no amount of engagement surveys, away days, or posters will save you. You can run as many workshops as you like but the company will still default to whatever the CEO encourages, tolerates, or ignores completely.

💡I’ve seen this pattern in micro start-ups, mid-market tech companies, and global giants. The contexts change, but the failure mode remains the same. 🤦‍♂️

🌱 The best CEOs I've worked with do the opposite. They treat culture the way a great product leader treats a product: with intention, clarity, iteration, and ownership. They talk about it constantly, they design it, they build mechanisms, not just slogans.

This month’s Plato In The Boardroom piece goes deeper into the idea of Culture-as-a-Product; and why CEOs who take culture seriously consistently create better commercial outcomes. 📈

Culture development isn’t a side-project.

For a CEO, it IS the job.


(🔗 Link to article in the comments 🗒️)

Chief Executive Officer @Practi - The FinTech for Healthcare

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The Battle

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The Battle

Dylan Roberts

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dylan Roberts's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreDylan Roberts's LinkedIn Performance