Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Organon
Search every verified Aaron Falcione interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Aaron Falcione, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Organon, discussed the role of culture in mergers and acquisitions and the company's approach to return-to-office policies in two September 2024 podcast appearances. In the first appearance, Falcione stated that people "make or break a deal" and that failing to address urgent people issues in M&A reduces the probability of capturing deal value. He said that in a transaction, the first question employees ask is "Will I have a job?" and that senior executives often want to start with vision and values, but must first address basic security concerns. He described walking away from a deal due to a "fundamental cultural misfit" and later acquiring the same company from a position of strength)Skip In the second appearance, Falcione described Organon's return-to-office strategy, which he said guides employees to be in the office two to three days a week with one anchor day for cross-functional collaboration, rather than mandating attendance. He said the company was "vulnerable" in acknowledging it did not have a solution that would satisfy everyone)Skip He cited solidarity with essential workers who showed up during COVID, community obligation to local businesses in Jersey City, and the disproportionate impact of mandates on women as factors in the decision. Falcione said that when the initial strategy was announced, employees "threw up all over it," and the company listened and course-corrected. He added that "sometimes as a senior leader you just have to eat a little humble pie."
“We basically said we don't have the answer, no one does, and so I think we started to set aside this notion that there is a solution here that's going to satisfy everyone. We talked about what we valued: in-person collaboration, human connection, and how that yields more innovative, creative results as a company.”
“We sent a note out announcing our new return to office strategy and our Founders threw up all over it. They just said, 'No, this is terrible.' We listened, recalibrated, and course-corrected, and we've landed in a place that the majority of our Founders feel really positive about.”
“Our strategy right now is we guide the organization; we'd like people to be in the office two to three days a week. We have one anchor day, Wednesday, where we encourage cross-functional collaboration. We allow flexibility of coming and going times and have created amenities to make it a positive experience.”
“We have six manufacturing plants around the world. These are heroes in my mind who showed up every day during the height of COVID when it was really scary. We should have solidarity with those people and all essential workers who helped keep our world going during that time.”
businessleadership #leadership #management Aaron Falcione emphasizes the importance of culture in mergers and acquisitions ...
businessleadership #leadership #management Aaron Falcione emphasizes the importance of culture in mergers and acquisitions ...
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