This article was originally published by Sherpany, a Datasite company.
When boards and executive teams prepare for strategic decisions, timing and context matter. Yet market insight often arrives too late to influence the discussion, or lives in tools disconnected from the way meetings are prepared and run.
Data on sector movements, valuations, or recent transactions may exist, but tends to circulate as static reports or analyst summaries. By the time these reach the boardroom, the moment to act has often passed.
This creates friction at exactly the point where clarity is needed most, and leaves directors and leaders missing vital context when the time comes to assess proposals, challenge assumptions, and shape outcomes. According to Nevin Raj, Co-founder of Grata, the leading private market intelligence platform, "There is a vast amount of information to process that might be relevant to a board and this information is not centralized. Also, most board members split their time, so a lack of dedicated focus on market developments makes it often fall off the priority list."
In this article, we ask, “what if timely market signals were part of the meeting workflow itself?” and consider a different approach, not as extra steps, but as context embedded in the tools boards already use.
We’ll consider:
- Why this matters for M&A
- What gets lost when decisions and data live apart
- How embedded intelligence could help boards lead with greater speed, confidence, and alignment.
How Timing and Context Shape M&A Oversight
In M&A, timing shapes outcomes. The boards and leaders who wait for insight outside of meetings risk missing the chance to influence outcomes with the biggest impact.
When opportunities emerge, the conditions that support or weaken them can shift quickly. Valuations change, competitive interest builds, and signals from the market become more difficult to read.
Boards that rely on static updates, or only receive external input at the last minute, are left reacting rather than shaping the outcome, and as Nevin puts it, "timing can make a huge difference in when a company exits, raises capital, or starts development on a new strategic initiative so they don’t fall behind."
Having relevant context during preparation helps boards focus on the decisions ahead. It gives them a more accurate view of where the market is heading and how comparable companies are positioned. Specificity is key here, as Nevin explains, "Fact over anecdote. Precision over estimates (e.g., 'valuations are down' vs 'valuations are down 11%').” Getting this right supports stronger oversight and makes it easier to challenge internal proposals using external reference points.
Context is most valuable when it is available before the conversation begins. It should not be something that is layered on top afterwards or summarised once the opportunity has passed.
What's Lost When Market Signals and Decisions Are Siloed
Board members often depend on analysts, advisors, or internal teams to provide market intelligence, but the way this information is shared creates friction. It usually arrives as static decks, PDF briefings, or platform exports that are not connected to the tools used for meeting preparation.
This disconnect fragments the workflow. Switching between systems slows alignment and makes it harder to hold onto the signals that matter. When intelligence sits outside the discussion, its influence is reduced.
Important context may be missed entirely, not because it lacked value, but because it wasn’t visible at the right moment. Nevin confirms this, explaining that "it tends to be very ad hoc and anecdotal, not based on full market visibility. Someone will forward an article to the group (a recent deal announcement, for example) and expect decisions to be made on that information."
Over time, these gaps compound. Board conversations become less grounded in current market dynamics and more reliant on internal assumptions.
As a result, decisions may lag behind reality or fail to reflect what competitors are already acting on. Nevin points out that "boards tend to be, at least anecdotally, on top of major fundraising events, M&A, and public markets valuation changes in their specific market.” He continues, “However, they tend to overlook moves in adjacencies that, today, might not be an opportunity or threat but, tomorrow, might have a deep impact on their space."
Rethinking How Boards Receive Strategic Intelligence
The traditional approach relies on information being pushed to the board — through updates, slides, or reports. But the value of strategic intelligence often depends less on the content itself and more on when and where it appears.
A more useful pattern is starting to emerge:
- Strategic signals are tied to agenda items
- Context is surfaced as part of preparation, not added afterwards
- Insight on deals, valuations or peers appears in the same space as discussion documents
This approach removes the need for tool-switching or last-minute inserts. More importantly, it raises the baseline for discussion. Instead of asking whether the board has enough information, the question becomes whether the board is asking the right questions, with the benefit of timely, relevant context in front of them. Rather than a new, separate process, it’s a small refinement in the workflow that boards are already familiar with.
What Could Embedded Market Intelligence Look Like?
As Nevin explains, "Boards could make better decisions on capital deployment, whether that be organic or inorganic initiatives," but only if they have what he describes as "specific and consistent reporting on market and competitive moves, specifically deals (M&A and fundraises), new entrants, and valuation changes." When strategic signals are presented inside the same tools used for preparation, they become part of the workflow rather than something extra to review.
Here’s how this could work in practice:
- Set parameters: Start by setting the parameters for your alerts, including your company details, key competitors, industry details, and other categories of market information you would like alerts for, such as changes in leadership in companies you are interested in.
- Check alerts: In Sherpany, alerts based on these parameters would be visible, using Grata’s industry-leading market intelligence.
- Feed your agendas: With time-sensitive alerts now flowing straight into Sherpany, you can move them to your meeting agendas with a single click and begin discussing with other meeting participants asynchronously.
The value of these signals is in helping board members and leaders to keep up with the market so that they can take decisive action and reduce missed opportunities.
When that context is easy to access, it supports more confident conversations and better-informed decisions, all without requiring extra effort from the board or its supporting teams.
What Would This Unlock for M&A-focused Boards and Executive Teams?
When boards and executive teams gain access to live market signals during preparation, decision-making improves. Acquisitions, divestments, and capital allocation can be considered in the context of current sector movements, rather than relying on assumptions formed weeks earlier.
This shift also makes preparation more focused. Instead of chasing background material or requesting last-minute input from internal teams, directors start with a shared understanding of what’s happening outside the business. They’re better placed to ask the right questions and to challenge proposals constructively.
Meetings move faster. Discussions centre on action, not alignment, and with less friction, boards reach decisions more efficiently, and with greater confidence in the market context behind them.
Bringing Governance, Decision-making, and Market Intelligence Together
A few important changes take place when boards and executive teams have access to strategic context as part of their existing workflow:
- Meetings become more focussed
- Preparation gets lighter, not heavier
- Oversight becomes easier to apply, especially for non-executives
This doesn’t require new tools; instead, it means placing insight where it supports decisions most effectively.
That could mean context showing up next to an agenda topic, a company profile linked directly from the meeting pack, or valuations appearing alongside a capital allocation discussion.
As expectations rise and decision cycles tighten, governance needs to match the pace. Boards and leaders shouldn’t have to wait for context, or request it in the form of separate updates.
The more intelligence is aligned with preparation, the easier it becomes to ask sharper questions and act with confidence, all without adding complexity or time. As Nevin puts it, "AI is making it easier to synthesize vast amounts of information and distill it for boards."
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