NayaDaya Analytics joins The Conference Board panel on AI and the people side of M&A

Petri Järvinen, CEO of NayaDaya Analytics, joined The Conference Board’s HR M&A Council as a guest speaker on October 23, 2026, for a panel discussion on AI and the people side of mergers and acquisitions. The session explored how understanding the human element, with help from AI, can help leaders make better decisions throughout a deal and the integration that follows.

The Conference Board brings together exclusively approximately 1,000 member companies across 60 countries, including 80% of the Fortune 100. Its HR M&A Council provides a forum for senior HR leaders to exchange perspectives on the people challenges and opportunities involved in acquisitions.

The panel addressed fundamental questions facing M&A leaders: where people-related challenges emerge, which metrics deserve attention, what early signals can reveal about an integration, and how employee insights can strengthen decision-making.

Some interesting discussion points included:

• How to maintain privacy and create trust
• How to assess employee experiences and behavior within the constraints of due diligence work
• How to turn insight into action and "earn the seat in the table"

Petri shared NayaDaya Analytics’ approach to making the human side of M&A visible and actionable. Combining emotion-behavioral science, AI, and M&A process intelligence, People Impact Analytics® uses just three questions to understand how employees experience a deal, what drives those experiences, and which behavioral patterns may support or hinder integration. These insights help leaders focus their actions on what matters most.

We thank The Conference Board’s HR M&A Council for the opportunity to contribute to this exchange on how AI and science can support people and successful M&A outcomes.

You can find more information on The Conference Board here.