Top Internal Strategy/Business Development Groups?

It's getting cold out, which means all the 2nd year analysts/associates are starting to think of the what next. B-School? A 3rd year at the firm? Exit? I think the pros and cons of the 1st 2 are in abundance, but there hasn't been much around what the top internal corporate strategy/business development groups are by company.

I know Disney and Google are typically considered crem de la creme, but what about the rest? How do these groups compare to their equivalent roles in IBD/Consulting? Are they better to jump ship to after the Pre-MBA stint? After the MBA? Or after returning to Consulting/Banking (assuming you're sponsored)? Anybody with some insight that can chime in would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure I'm not the only person wondering.

*Thanks for the edit bro lol*

11 Comments
 

It's not elite like DIS CSBD or GOOG but eBay's Corp Dev team, a few of them were from HBS and went to HBS and upper management is mostly GSB, given the fact the CEO, COS and a few ranking folks were all GSB.

Another is Apple's Corp Dev, which is led by Adrian Perica - it's not known and super hard to get into, only because of Apple's low profile.

 

At this point, I think it's time to stop chasing the "top" groups, and just do what you like to do. What industry do you like? What companies do you like? How big/small do you want it to be? These should be your most important questions.

 
Emous

At this point, I think it's time to stop chasing the "top" groups, and just do what you like to do. What industry do you like? What companies do you like? How big/small do you want it to be? These should be your most important questions.

As someone who works in what's considered to be a "top" corp strat / biz dev group, I have to absolutely agree with Emous. People here who joined my team just for the prestige have been disappointed, both with the job and their exit opps (it's hard to go into the company whose industry/size matches your preference after working for a "top" team that's misaligned with your long term goals).

 

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