A European fleet management SaaS provider acquires a competing business from a major French operator. Two teams that have never met. Heterogeneous information systems. A transition agreement to honor. Data that stays off-limits until the official signing. And a timeline that leaves no room for improvisation.
This is the context in which Shiftmove turned to FocusTribes to identify and place a freelance program director able to lead this carve-in from end to end. Christophe Mougin, with 32 years of experience in large-scale digital transformation projects, was selected for the assignment. Manuel Schuler, General Manager Shiftmove France, gives a candid assessment.
I- Shiftmove Faces the Carve-In Challenge: A Context Under Constraints
An Acquisition That Arrives Without Standalone Infrastructure
When Shiftmove finalizes the acquisition of Optimum — the French subsidiary of a major telecom operator — the acquired company comes into the deal with no ERP of its own, no standalone billing systems, and no independent payroll. Everything relies on a TSA (Transition Service Agreement): an agreement under which the former shareholder temporarily keeps providing these services while the new entity sets up its own tools.
For Manuel Schuler, General Manager Shiftmove France, the starting point was clear: "The company came without much infrastructure - ERP, billing systems - and there was a big plan, the TSA, that had to be delivered within tight deadlines."
The Data Challenge: Building Without Seeing Everything
In a carve-in, one of the most complex paradoxes is access to data. Teams must build the systems — ERP, payroll, billing — before they even have access to the acquired company's real data. This data, confidential until the official signing, remains inaccessible for legal and transaction governance reasons.
Manuel Schuler describes the operational reality of this constraint: "We were building a payment system without really having access to the data, because it can't be shared before the official transaction. We had to move forward with dummy data, create alternative formats, all while staying within legal limits. That's what made the project particularly delicate."
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II- The Program Director's Role: Between the Big Picture and Operational Reality
Structure, Synchronize, Report
On a project like this, the work cuts across everything. Christophe Mougin had to coordinate, simultaneously, workstreams as different as the migration to an ERP, the transfer of HR contracts, office space management, securing the payroll systems, choosing the cloud provider, and taking over the vehicle fleet. Each sub-project had to deliver on time while staying in sync with the others.
On top of this comes a demanding strategic project management dimension: keeping top management informed, in a concise and decision-oriented way, on a program with countless ramifications.
"You constantly move between the eagle's flight and the ant's step. You need the macro view and, at the same time, you have to go down and check every detail, every piece of data, every process. It's not an exercise for everyone." — Christophe Mougin - Program Director
From the Coffee Machine to the Choice of Cloud Provider
One of the most striking features of a carve-in is the coexistence of topics of very different importance, all of which must be handled with the same rigor. Christophe Mougin gives a concrete illustration: "You have to be able to care as much about installing the coffee machine for the Day 1 teams moving in as about choosing the cloud provider — because if some are on AWS and others on Google, you'll need to anticipate and rationalize. No topic is too small to be overlooked."
A telling example: taking over company vehicles from the leasing providers. A seemingly minor topic, yet one that can leave sales reps stranded in the field if handled poorly. Christophe Mougin devoted several days to it to make sure operational continuity was guaranteed, whatever hat the teams wore on Day 1.
III- Why Bring In a Senior Freelancer to Lead a Carve-In?
Carve-In Experience Can't Be Improvised
A carve-in is, by definition, a rare project. Few internal employees have ever led one. Most companies that embark on one do so for the first time — and under intense time pressure. This is precisely where the accumulated experience of a specialized freelance consultant makes all the difference.
Manuel Schuler puts it plainly: "It's a project that many people in the company had never experienced. We needed someone able to ramp up quickly, to structure a program of this scale, and to interact with senior partners like Orange in a demanding corporate context. It was very instrumental to have this combination of skills in Christophe."
The Value of Independence: Speaking Plainly Without a Hidden Agenda
In a carve-in, human and political stakes are everywhere. Teams are constantly cautious about what they can say, to whom, and within what scope. In this tense context, the outside perspective of the freelance consultant becomes especially valuable.
"The consultant remains external to the company, which allows them to assess things objectively and clearly, and to state them without a hidden stake. When they say there's a risk on a given point, you know it isn't tied to a personal agenda — it's factual. It speeds up the decision-making process considerably." — Christophe Mougin - Program Director
IV- What Really Makes the Difference: Situational Intelligence
Uncovering the Unspoken Before It Becomes a Risk
There are many integration methodologies. The large consulting firms each have one. But according to Christophe Mougin, no methodology replaces what he calls situational intelligence — the ability to sense, behind reassuring answers and well-run meetings, what is left unsaid but could derail everything.
"It's extremely valuable to have a very structured approach — but what will ultimately make the difference between success and failure is having gone into the unspoken, into the things only timidly mentioned, and having identified them and brought them under control. It's not something you can automate or delegate to a methodology." — Christophe Mougin - Program Director
He defines this sixth sense simply: it is experience. Having been through a number of transformation projects makes it possible to decode weak signals very quickly — because human psychology, when faced with change and uncertainty, is relatively universal.
The Human Dimension: The Project's First Challenge
Christophe Mougin often returns to the metaphor of the conductor — and it is no coincidence. A lifelong passionate choral music enthusiast, he finds in leading a carve-in the same demands: getting musicians who don't know each other to play together, with different scores, under tight timing.
In a carve-in, the teams coming together speak different languages — sometimes literally, always culturally. Trust between the parties can't be taken for granted. And paradoxically, communication must remain tightly controlled to protect the confidentiality of the transaction. This is the whole challenge of change management in this type of project.
"You have people living in very different environments. The program director's role is to learn to speak all their languages — at every level of the hierarchy — to quickly identify what could cause problems. People know where the risks are. You just have to bring them to the right level of dialogue and trust so they speak up." — Christophe Mougin, Program Director
Manuel Schuler confirms that this interpersonal skill and this team management were decisive in the Shiftmove context — a scale-up used to agile ways of working, facing a much more corporate structure on the side of its operator partner:
"What I particularly appreciated about Christophe was his ability to build connections quickly — and in a context where everyone is a bit on edge. It's not something everyone knows how to do. Even less so on this type of project." — Manuel Schuler, General Manager Shiftmove France
V- The FocusTribes Collaboration: Quality of Selection, Efficiency, Trust
A Selection Process That Makes the Difference
At FocusTribes, the added value is not in the volume of profiles sent — it lies in the quality and relevance of each profile proposed. One to two freelance consultants presented per assignment, never more. And for each consultant, preparation work upstream to make sure the meeting with the client has every chance of turning into an engagement.
Christophe Mougin clearly remembers the quality of the pre-interview briefing: "I had asked for a briefing with Mathias to prepare the interviews as well as possible. Not only did he agree, but the quality of that exchange was, I think, key in the client's decision to work with me. It allowed me to position myself precisely with regard to the project's real challenges."
On the Shiftmove side, according to Manuel Schuler, the verdict is unequivocal: "What matters most at the end of the day is that they find the right people. And we were very happy with that."
A Direct Relationship: Negotiations With Cards on the Table
Christophe Mougin has worked with several intermediaries during his career as a freelance consultant. What sets FocusTribes apart, in his view, is above all the clarity of the relationship and operational efficiency. To learn more about our approach, also read our carve-out lessons learned with another consultant from the community.
"With FocusTribes, things are clear and straightforward from the start. Trust is established right away. When we negotiated terms or timing, within half an hour things were settled — cards on the table, everyone knows their interests, you find an agreement. There's no needless fuss, no deliberate vagueness. It matches exactly the culture of this profession." — Christophe Mougin, Program Director
Manuel Schuler confirms this feeling from the client side: exchanges with FocusTribes were infrequent but always efficient, fast, and pragmatic — which is precisely what you need when steering a transformation at high speed.
A Consultant So Well Integrated That He Became an Employee
The most telling measure of a consulting assignment's success? The client offering the freelance consultant a place on their team once the engagement ends. This was not planned at all, but it is exactly what happened at Shiftmove.
Christophe Mougin joined Shiftmove as an employee at the end of his assignment as program director — a decision that says everything about the quality of the collaboration and the mutual trust built.
"This client offered me to join the teams, and it reflects the fact that we really work very well together — it was mutual. It's an adventure I decided to try." — Christophe Mougin, Program Director
This kind of outcome is rare in the world of freelance consulting — and for good reason: it requires a professional and human chemistry that is hard to force. Here it is the result of rigorous selection, careful preparation, and execution at the level of the stakes.
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