Merging Companies, Merging Cultures: Lessons from the Avast–NortonLifeLock Merger
- alexis692
- Nov 6
- 3 min read
What happens when two definitions of freedom meet inside one organization?
TL;DR: When companies merge, so do their cultures. The NortonLifeLock–Avast merger (now Gen Digital) wasn’t just about cybersecurity — it was about integrating two ideas of freedom: one rooted in exploration, the other in protection.
At CultureCamp AI, we see these moments as invitations to work with polarity — Freedom and Protection — not as a clash, but as creative tension that, when held well, can lead to something stronger than either side alone.
The Merger:
In late 2022, cybersecurity leaders NortonLifeLock and Avast officially joined forces, creating a new company called Gen Digital.
On paper, the deal was straightforward: NortonLifeLock acquired Avast to combine strengths in consumer security, privacy, and identity protection. The merged company would serve more than half a billion users worldwide. As coaches, we often enter after the paperwork is signed, when the real merger, the human one, begins.
Beneath the financial logic was something far more complex — an integration of two powerful, deeply held cultures.
Two Distinct Cultural Identities
Avast emerged from Prague’s early tech scene in the late 1980s — a startup born from a spirit of digital independence and open access. Its ethos reflected a Cultivate culture: possibility-oriented, relational, and values-driven. Innovation and freedom weren’t slogans; they were moral commitments. Avast pioneered free antivirus software on the belief that security online is a basic human right.
NortonLifeLock (formerly part of Symantec) had a different origin story — enterprise roots, compliance rigor, and a focus on large-scale reliability. Its identity leaned toward Control and Competence: protecting customers through structure, precision, and consistency. For Norton, safety meant control; for Avast, safety meant empowerment.
Each organization embodied legitimate strengths. But as with many mergers, the real challenge emerged where those strengths met.
Voices of the Merger
In his farewell blog post, Ondřej Vlček, Avast’s longtime CEO and now President of Gen Digital, wrote with a mix of pride, nostalgia, and hope:
“We are at the start of building a new company that will change the cyber safety industry forever, and that will fundamentally advance the theme of protecting freedom in the digital environment. … I spent a lot of time with Vincent Pilette, NortonLifeLock CEO, discussing how to bring our two companies together. It was clear to both of us that the speed at which the online world is evolving is a significant threat to freedom in the digital environment.”
For Vlček, freedom captured Avast’s cultural DNA: open, experimental, and human-centered.
Vincent Pilette, who became CEO of the combined company, echoed the same aspiration from a different angle, declaring that Gen Digital’s purpose was to “power digital freedom for the next generation of our digital lives.”
Both leaders spoke about freedom — but they were each holding a different truth: for one, freedom meant the ability to explore; for the other, the assurance of safety. Freedom and protection — not opposites, but partners that need each other.
When you look at your client organizations, which side of this polarity do they tend to favor — freedom or protection? Do you work to build a bridge between these these - or see them as separate?
Using Polarities to Identify New Possibilities
That pairing — freedom and protection — is what we at CultureCamp AI describe as a polarity: two values that are both essential, yet often pull in opposite directions.Working with a polarity doesn’t mean choosing sides; it means learning to move between them with awareness.
At CultureCampAI, we’ve built tools that help coaches and leaders visualize cultural polarities inside teams — whether between departments, leadership tiers, or merged organizations.
Our culture assessments identify where each group leans, while the Coach Lens enables facilitators to guide dialogue across those divides.
Because when you can see your culture’s tensions, you can turn friction into flow.
🔗 Try the CultureCamp assessment at app.culturecamp.ai
📩 Coaches: reach out to join our next CultureCamp Coach Collective
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