The merger between Sopra Steria, Ordina, and Tobania marked a defining moment: the creation of a larger, more ambitious organization with the potential to strengthen its position across Europe. The strategic rationale was clear. The challenge was execution.

This was not a traditional integration where one organization absorbs another. It was a complex post-merger integration (PMI), bringing together three distinct legacies, each with its own culture, leadership style, and way of working. The real question was how to move from three organizations to one coherent entity, without losing momentum, performance, or identity along the way.

Business Markers supported Sopra Steria throughout this PMI journey, focusing on both cultural alignment and operational execution.

Understanding and shaping one future culture

A critical first step was to understand the cultural landscape of the three organizations. Each brought a distinct profile: Tobania with a strong entrepreneurial and action-oriented mindset, Sopra Steria with a structured and project-driven approach, and Ordina with a more people-oriented and stability-focused culture.

The conclusion was clear. The future organization could not simply adopt one of these cultures. It needed to deliberately build a new, shared identity.

Business Markers facilitated a structured cultural assessment combining quantitative analysis, leadership interviews, and interactive workshops. This provided a deep understanding of similarities, differences, and underlying tensions across teams, countries, and leadership layers.

The insights revealed not only strengths, but also critical challenges. Legacy sensitivities, unclear roles, pressure on middle management, communication gaps, and the risk of cultural misalignment all surfaced as key risks for integration success.

Rather than treating culture as a soft topic, the process positioned it as a core leadership responsibility. The outcome was a clear and actionable view on what needed to be preserved, what needed to be blended, and what needed to change to build one future organization.

Structuring integration into coordinated action

In parallel, Business Markers supported the structuring of the post-merger integration into a clear and actionable roadmap.

The challenge was to deliver on short-term financial targets while simultaneously building synergies, aligning teams, and preparing the organization for long-term growth. Without structure, the risk was fragmentation, ad hoc decision-making, and loss of focus.

We translated the integration ambition into a set of coordinated workstreams covering governance, strategy, business focus, operations, culture, and communication.

Concrete initiatives included aligning commercial approaches, integrating client portfolios, setting up shared governance structures, harmonizing reporting, defining joint policies, and aligning HR, recruitment, and capability development. At the same time, communication and branding efforts ensured that internal and external stakeholders experienced one evolving organization rather than separate entities.

To activate this roadmap, Business Markers facilitated joint workshops and offsites bringing together leadership and operational teams. These sessions focused on translating integration into practical next steps: defining priorities, identifying joint opportunities, and aligning on how teams would work together going forward.

From integration plan to organizational momentum

What made this trajectory distinctive was the combination of cultural depth and operational pragmatism.

The integration was not treated as a checklist or a purely structural exercise. It was about aligning people, decisions, and execution around one shared direction, while maintaining business continuity and performance.

The roadmap and governance created clarity and ownership. The cultural work created understanding and alignment. Together, they ensured that integration was not only designed, but actively driven across the organization.

Outcome

Sopra Steria moved from a complex merger situation towards a more aligned and coordinated organization.

Integration efforts became more structured, priorities clearer, and collaboration across teams and functions more effective. Leadership gained a stronger understanding of the cultural dynamics at play, enabling more conscious and deliberate decisions about the future organization.

Most importantly, the organization built a foundation to evolve towards one shared identity, supported by aligned workstreams, clear ownership, and a more integrated way of working.

This case illustrates how Business Markers helps organizations turn post-merger complexity into coordinated action, by connecting culture, structure, and execution into one integrated approach.