Mergers and Acquisitions

In this interview, Joe McNamee reflects on his journey from Ipswitch to Progress Software following an acquisition, sharing how initial uncertainty turned into meaningful career growth. He highlights Progress’ people-first approach to integration, strong cross-functional collaboration and deep investment in leadership development. Today, as Vice President of Sales for North America, Joe credits Progress with providing the opportunity to grow as a leader while helping others do the same.

In this Progress M&A blog series post, we’ll cover how Progress proactively positioned the company and our customers for long-term success in Agentic RAG with our recent acquisition of Nuclia.

Karen Williams, VP of Corporate Development, discusses best practices for M&A integration, highlighting the importance of having a dedicated role for integration, essential governance structures and strategies for ensuring smooth transitions during the integration process, including the development of a comprehensive playbook and effective communication plans.

When Progress Software acquired Kemp Technologies, they didn’t just gain innovative technology, they brought in exceptional people. One of them is Deirdre Sarsfield, now VP of Demand Generation & Field Marketing at Progress, whose journey from being an employee at Kemp in its early days to a global marketing leader at Progress offers a rich lens into how effective integration and shared culture can unlock incredible value. We sat down with Deirdre to reflect on her career journey, what made Kemp special and her impact on Progress.