This is a novel interview with two CEO’s and a common board member between them, McKinsey & Company Emeritus, Dr. Les Silverman, former Lead Independent Director of Pepco and Independent Director of Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG); Mr. Robert (Bob) Skaggs, former CEO of NiSource and then CEO of CPG; and Mr. Joseph (Joe) Rigby, former Chief Executive Officer of Pepco. As a board member for both companies, Les Silverman was at the vertex of notable M&A transactions that took place under the leadership of each of these CEOs over the last two years.

At NiSource, Bob Skaggs presided over the separation of the gas storage and transmission assets from the regulated utility. Bob led CPG’s spinoff from NiSource into a standalone publicly traded company in July 2015, and the subsequent sale of CPG to TransCanada one year later. At Pepco, Joe Rigby led the sale of Pepco to Exelon. The NiSource – CPG transaction unfolded in a relatively smooth and speedy manner, while the Pepco acquisition could only be described as epic and protracted.

My fabulous foursome gathered in the Pepco offices in Washington in one of the rooms where it happened several months after the completion of their transactions to reflect on the deliberations and perspectives of the executives and one of the non-executive directors who made it all happen.