The trick is to start the new agency by never promoting anyone who is a serving Chief in any of the affected agencies and bring in an executive from another agency that has a 'metro' style of command and a substantive Graduate degree in something other than Fire Science, Homeland Security, Emergency Management, or some form of leadership [educational, organizational, etc.] to run it. Lots of Captains, BN Chiefs, and ass't Chiefs have UG degrees and a few get Grad degrees, but are they beneficial? Many are simply 'merit badges' to look good on a résumé. If the applicant cannot show a published thesis, the Grad program is likely weak. Just because applicant A went to Stanford and applicant B went to North Dakota State means next to nothing if A studied organizational management, while B studied Materials Engineering.
Look for executives that have stood up sections, turned around failed departments, dealt with substantive personnel issues, and or significantly grown the agencies they worked at. Get a 'blacked out face' photo of all applicants in their dress uniform. If they look like a North Korean admiral with medals, pins, a large number of badges, etc. - be cautious and look to see if this is an agency quirk or an applicant personality quirk.
Lots of agencies adopted into a consolidated command - LA County, Las Vegas, etc. Their benefits and challenges have been documented and are available for review.
