Director of Acquisition & Strategy

At ALS, we encourage you to dream big.

When you join us, you’ll be part of a global team harnessing the power of scientific testing and data-driven insights to build a healthier future. 

About the Position

The Director, Acquisitions and Strategy is responsible for designing, executing, and continuously improving the USA & Canada Environmental M&A strategy in alignment with ALS global strategy. This role owns the end-to-end lifecycle of acquisitions including strategy formulation, pipeline development, due diligence, integration governance, and post-acquisition value realization - while incorporating disciplined lessons learned from prior transactions.

In parallel, the role serves as a strategic partner to the USA Environmental leadership team, contributing to the overall national strategy for operations best practices, innovation, and continuous improvement initiatives that drive margin expansion, scalability, and long-term value creation across both legacy and acquired businesses.

Specific Responsibilities:

This position is both strategic and execution-oriented, with accountability for:

• Supporting Building a credible, repeatable M&A pipeline and playbook
• Reducing execution risk through rigorous due diligence and integration discipline
• Acting as an empowered integration leader (or sponsor) post-close

This role description is intentionally designed as a senior, high-impact leadership position and may evolve as the Environmental business matures and acquisition cadence increases.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

1. M&A Strategy & Pipeline Development

• Develop and maintain a clear USA and Canada Environmental M&A strategy, aligned to ALS global capital allocation and USA growth priorities
• Define target criteria including: Target company profile (testing scope, geography, regulatory position, cultural maturity), Deal size thresholds and risk appetite, Strategic intent (bolt-on vs. platform vs. new-region entry), and best strategic fit (locations, services, culture)
• Build and manage a 6 to 12 month rolling opportunity pipeline in coordination with Corporate M&A
• Lead early-stage outreach strategy appropriate to target company type and ownership profile
• Act as USA and Canada point-of-contact with global M&A leadership and strategy function

2. Due Diligence Excellence

• Own or co-own USA & Canada side due diligence execution, ensuring rigor across: Operations, Quality, Technical Capability, Regulatory and certification risk, Culture, leadership depth, and people capability, Systems (LIMS, ERP, HRIS, IT infrastructure)
• Lead and train teams from the business who will support DD phase – ensuring they are properly resourced and free from optimism bias.
• Require documented proof and on-site verification, not verbal confirmation
• Incorporate cultural and integration readiness explicitly into valuation and deal structure

3. Integration Leadership & Governance

• Act as Integration Sponsor or empowered Integration Leader for USA acquisitions; support early post-close stage for Canada acquisitions until they can be turned over to appropriate business personnel.
• Establish integration governance from Day 1 (no soft integrations): Including clear authority, Named workstream owners, Resourced integration plan (12–18 months)
• Ensure functional integration across Quality, HSE, Operations, IT, Finance, HR, Sales
• Enforce Integration Plan milestone validation and benefits realization tracking
• Drive early system integration to enable transparency, control, and cultural unification

4. Post-Acquisition Value Realization and Transition to permanent Management Team

• Ensure acquisition thesis is translated into executable plans
• Monitor delivery of: Margin improvement, Synergies (technical, commercial, procurement, logistics), Client retention and cross-selling
• Intervene early if leadership, culture, or performance risks emerge
• Support corrective action plans where legacy issues are uncovered post-close
• Develop timeline, task lists, and handover activities to ensure completed acquisitions transition successfully into the existing regional leadership structure who will be responsible for long-term direct oversight and integration of the acquired company.

5. Strategic & Operational Enablement

• Evaluate and interact with existing legacy businesses to ensure full understanding of operational model for consistent delivery of best practices, innovation, continuous improvement and client-focused strategies across both legacy and acquired businesses promoting a OneA