Michele Grant

Michele Grant is Value Realization Office Lead at Cognizant, a global M&A integration and enterprise transformation executive with more than 20 years leading complex transactions, private equity portfolio integrations, and enterprise modernization across media, technology, consumer goods, and financial services. She currently directs value creation on a multi-billion-dollar post-acquisition managed services transition for a Fortune 500 fintech client, and previously led the Integration Management Office for the One Rock Capital Partners-backed merger of Primo Water and BlueTriton Brands, targeting $250 million in synergies. Her career spans landmark transactions including the $30 billion ViacomCBS merger and NBCUniversal's $39 billion Sky acquisition.

Michele is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of "The Power Dressers: A Women's Guide to Professional Style" and creator of the Leading at Scale video series on M&A integration and enterprise transformation. She delivered the May 2026 Cornell Tech Business Network Forum keynote on post-merger integration and is a 2026 recipient of the St. John's University Alumnae Achiever Award. She has appeared on the SHRM Podcast, KBLA (Los Angeles), WBAI (Pacifica New York), WSOU, WKIM, and On Point with Carlette Christmas, and has been featured in Yahoo Entertainment.

Michele serves as President of the Cornell University Johnson Women's Leadership and Advisory Network, Chair of the Loughlin Society at St. John's University, and former Co-Chair of the Lincoln Center Young Patrons Board. Her education tracks the arc of her career from technical foundation to executive M&A and governance practice: a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics from St. John's University, the Wharton M&A and Corporate Development credential, NACD Accelerate, and a Cornell Johnson Executive MBA in progress (May 2027). Google Gen AI Leader certification anchors her enterprise AI perspective.

Sub-specialties:
Post-merger integration and value realization; M&A synergy capture and execution; enterprise transformation at scale; private equity portfolio operations; fintech consolidation and managed services carve-outs; media and technology M&A; enterprise AI adoption; executive presence and professional style for women in leadership.