Stonehill leans into middle-market integration

Stonehill says it built a post-merger integration practice after strategy clients kept asking who would execute the plan. The Tampa firm now positions itself as a specialist for private-equity-backed and founder-led companies navigating complex deals.

Why it matters: - Middle-market mergers often lose value in the first 100 days after closing, when teams have to merge payroll, systems and customer operations. - Founder-led and private-equity-backed companies often cannot afford Fortune 500-style consulting teams, but they still need execution help. - Stonehill says its model is built to fill that gap with a hands-on integration approach.

What happened: - Stonehill, based in Tampa, said it evolved from a strategy consultancy into a post-merger integration specialist. - Doug Pace, Stonehill president and CEO, said private-equity clients kept asking who would implement the plan after strategy work was completed. - Stonehill now describes itself as a go-to firm for post-merger integration in the middle market. - The company says its work now includes integration management office stand-ups, carve-out and transition-services advisory, organizational design and change management.

The details: - Stonehill began as a strategy shop serving private-equity sponsors and founder-led companies. - The firm says big consulting models are less effective in the middle market because deals move faster, margins for error are thinner and leadership teams have limited bandwidth. - Stonehill built a process-driven integration framework based on best practices and experience. - The firm added Design Thinking to make integration more human-centered and adaptable. - Stonehill uses an embedded Integration Management Office model, standing up an IMO inside the client company and working alongside leadership through the early stages of the deal. - Pace said integration is something the firm stands up inside the business and runs with the leadership team until it sticks. - Stonehill has also added an AI, Automation and Analytics Center of Excellence to its integration playbook. - The company says the center helps with synergy tracking and operational reporting before combined systems are fully unified. - As clients asked for more support beyond transactions, Stonehill added organizational design, process improvement, customer experience and change-management services. - Stonehill says it has handled billions of dollars in merger value across its transaction-related work. - The firm has received recognition including the U.S. Chamber’s Emerging Business of the Year, the American Business Awards’ Entrepreneur of the Year and Insight Magazine’s Design Leader of the Year. - Stonehill is headquartered in Tampa and has studios in Tampa, Dallas, Chicago and New York. - The firm serves private-equity-backed and founder-led companies nationwide. - Stonehill’s website is stonehillinnovation.com.

Between the lines: - Stonehill is selling a broader message than integration services alone. - The company is positioning middle-market execution as a distinct category, not a smaller version of enterprise consulting. - The growth in services suggests clients are using Stonehill as a longer-term operating partner, not just a deal-day advisor.

What’s next: - Stonehill is likely to keep expanding around deal execution and post-close operations as clients ask for adjacent help. - The firm will continue leaning on integration as its flagship practice while using analytics and automation to speed up early-stage deal work.

The bottom line: - Stonehill’s pitch is simple: middle-market deals need implementation, not just strategy, and the firm says it built a business around that gap.