Q&A: Corp Dev Analyst at F25
Hey WSO! This forum has been very helpful to me over the last few years and thought I could do my best to give back to the community. Just recently finished up my analyst stint in Corp Dev at a highly acquisitive company. Feel free to shoot away with any questions.
Hey CDguy, thanks for doing this! How did you end up on the corp dev path and what's the plan for the future? Anything big in the works?
Background - graduated from a semi-target (think US News Top 20) and recruited directly into the CD program at my old firm. I think this is fairly rare, but quite a few companies have CD analysts spots available for new hires. My new role is with an emerging company in the same industry where I will be responsible for driving growth and executing the M&A strategy.
Good to hear that you gained experience at a highly acquisitive company. In light of that, how do you feel about the transferability of your skills into other roles (i.e. PE)? To those that have left your team previously, what have they exited to?
I think CD experiences vary widely between companies so I can't speak for everyone's experience but I do not believe my experience transfers super well into PE. As an analyst, my responsibilities were a mix of qualitative and quantitative work (70/30). The modeling for most deals was fairly simple and doesn't go into the nuances of a company's financials like a PE firm would. Additionally, PE companies acquire company's strictly for financial returns whereas strategy buyers have an assortment of reasons (building out new business lines, entering new markets, financial returns, revenue/cost synergies.... etc.) so from a strategy standpoint the learning experiences differ.
I've seen people go into Growth Equity, VC, IB, Business School and move internally within the company. I think the experience is versatile and it is up to your preference on where to exit next, but many doors remain open.
What is your outlook on a long term career in CD? Is an MBA necessary?
I think a long term career in CD can reap great rewards, but it really depends on what you value the most. Comp will not scale nearly as well as other finance roles (IB, PE, HF), but work life balance can be extremely good depending on the company and the work can be interesting if you are working in an industry you enjoy. As a ceiling, CD seniors often move into the C-Suite of other business segments and occasionally into the C-Level of the entire company. Every company views its CD team differently, but since my company was so acquisitive and worked relatively long hours, we were viewed by the company as a high talent move so mobility within the org was very easy (given you put in 2-3 years). For me, it seemed like the learning experience was stagnating so I wanted to try something new, while I still had the chance.
An MBA is not necessary to move up, but I think it can be a great differentiator and I've seen the difference in respect given to seniors with M7 MBAs. Those seniors always seemed to move up faster (not solely due to their MBA, they were top performers as well), but I've seen top performers without one rise up quickly too. Conclusion - it can help but it won't limit you if you don't have one, ultimately comes down to your reputation and performance.
Can you clarify? Did you go directly from undergrad to F25 Corp Dev or was there another stop in between?
Does F25 Corp Dev typically only hire from top tier IB & target undergrad or does UMM IB and semi-target undergrad have a good shot?
Does lateraling up happen in Corp Dev? For example, IB to F500 Corp Dev to F50 Corp Dev?
Directly from undergrad into CD, not many companies allow this but there are quite a few F500s that have analyst spots. At my company all the junior staff (Analysts and Associates) came from a mix of target, semi-target and non-target, but being at a better school definitely weighs in a lot during recruiting. At the manager/director/VP level, nearly everyone has a background in IB (top tier or MM) and/or has an M7 MBA. There are a few people (top performers) that have reached those levels by just staying for a while and moving up the ladder.
Definitely, from my experience I don't think CD recruiting is as rigid/prestige hungry as IB/PE. You can make the move from IB to F50 CD, really just depends if you demonstrate strong experience and interest during the recruiting process. Keep in mind comp varies widely, F250 might pay higher than F25 so I don't think CD roles are very comparable given the wide range of experiences and comp levels.
Interested in CD. Not many people go into CD out of undergrad, so very curious to hear about your story.
Anyways, what’s the comp range? Have you heard about comp in the analyst role from other companies?
Based on previous threads on WSO, comp varies significantly between firms. Curious to know if you share that sentiment. Thanks for doing this.
Nothing crazy with my story, my firm recruited at my school (not OCR, but had a resume drop). I went through a few phone screens before an onsite superday and received an offer a few days later. All in first year is ~80k-95k; this is in a LCOL city by the way. Unfortunately, I do not know comp at other companies. My understanding is comp does vary a lot so I share this sentiment, but I do not know exact numbers so I can't help you there.
What is your comp? What was it when you started, and how does it trend as you move up?
Analyst: ~80-105k Associates ~110-135k. Managers begin receiving equity and receive ~150-175k. Directors range from 200-350k, just depends on background and tenure. VP: 350k+ Not sure how comp scales past this.
80-105k in first year? That's incredible given the LCOL city you're in and the hours, very underrated career path for those coming straight out of undergrad
What industry? Also are you still at this company or do you have a new job? Thanks.
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