I work in corporate development at a professional services company (Fortune 500) in NYC. My career path to corp dev is non-traditional and didn't involve IB but may be of some help to a couple people. My summary background: - graduated from a liberal arts college in 2006 - took a back office job in financial services - left that company and took a new job in operations consulting at a major BB - while at the BB, moved into a new role that focused on M&A integration - left the BB to attend a top 25 MBA with the goal of getting into finance - interned at and accepted a full time offer to work in corp dev at my current employer Feel free to ask questions about going from a non-traditional background into finance, business school, corporate development, etc.
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Happy to help.
My group is relatively small (15 people) and only two have IB backgrounds. Both transitioned over after getting their MBA. Most of our analysts come from Big 4 finance (accounting, valuation, etc.). The MDs are ex-IB but made that switch over 10 years ago.
Career progression is much different in corp dev than other job functions and may vary significantly between different companies. - Some firms may have a clear career path (two years as associate, three years as manager) but that relies on turnover (either people going into the business or leaving the firm) - Other firms take a longer view, hiring people into the group with the expectation that they stay in the "same role" for a few years until they become experts and become a MD within the group or going into the business - Some corp dev people have become CFOs, COOs, Corporate Strategy leaders, and other roles but it all depends on the firm's culture and how they view corp dev
I'm not sure what the comp is at each level but the hours are dependent on whether or not you have a live deal. Generally 50 - 60 hours per week and going up to 70-80 during a live deal. Corp dev is also changing at many of the firms I know of, expanding to include elements of strategy and analysis. I don't know how this will affect hours and comp but it's a trend I'm seeing.