Head of M&A Technology Integration

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Vision & Enterprise Integration Leadership 

• Own and articulate the enterprise M&A Technology Integration strategy, aligned with the firm’s broader technology, application, and data strategy. 

• Establish and enforce a clear set of guiding principles for acquisition integration, application rationalization, and future-state architecture to support scalable, cost-effective growth. 

• Serve as the accountable executive for all technology aspects of M&A transactions, from diligence through post-close integration and stabilization. 

• Define and lead a multi-year enterprise application rationalization roadmap, balancing speed of integration with deliberate consolidation and risk management. 

M&A Integration Execution & Delivery 

• Lead Day 0 / Day 1 / Day 100 technology due-diligence, integration planning, and execution for all acquisitions, including application and infrastructure integration, security alignment, and operating model transition. 

• Orchestrate cross-functional execution across application teams, infrastructure, information security, data, and business stakeholders, ensuring clear ownership, sequencing, and risk management. 

• Establish standardized integration playbooks, timelines, decision frameworks, and success metrics to improve speed, consistency, and outcomes across transactions. 

• Provide clear executive-level visibility into integration progress, risks, trade-offs, and dependencies, escalating issues as needed to ensure timely resolution. 

Enterprise Application Rationalization & Value Realization 

• Own the enterprise application rationalization program, including application inventory, duplication analysis, target-state definition, and consolidation sequencing. 

• Partner with functional technology leaders and the business to evaluate rationalization options, define consolidation approaches, and drive execution in prioritized waves. 

• Quantify, track, and realize value from rationalization initiatives, including application count reduction, licensing and operating cost savings, and risk reduction. 

• Partner closely with Integration Architecture leadership to define target-state application patterns, integration approaches, and architectural standards. 

• Collaborate with Information Security, Infrastructure, and Data teams to ensure integrated platforms meet enterprise standards for resilience, scalability, and compliance. 

Stakeholder Engagement & External Partnerships 

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders, investment teams, and functional heads on technology integration strategy, trade-offs, and implications. 

• Build strong, collaborative relationships with application owners, infrastructure and cyber security