I would second this comment and add that proper change management is needed to ensure a smooth transition. As soon as the word is out, if you don’t have a plan

I would second this comment and add that proper change management is needed to ensure a smooth transition. As soon as the word is out, if you don’t have a plan and/or don’t communicate in the right way, your people will start sending out resumes and that can wreck havoc in your business. As you might expect, replacing top notch techies is quite hard. So managing the transition and making sure those that won’t be kept are better off is not only a good heartened approach but important to the success of the project. Management consultants usually get a bed rep but that’s something they’re pretty good at. If you’re an F50, you have the budget to hire a top one.