Q&A - Top Tech / Media Corporate Development Associate
Some of you might know that i recently switched into corporate development after doing ~3 years of banking and getting promoted to associate. I'm a couple months in, but can answer any questions you may have Update 2/21/17: We recently completed a $200 million acquisition and are now preparing for Bolt-ons. As a result of the process, I was promoted to Manager (junior/mid-level position). Excited to continue learning, witnessing tremendous business growth and building a track record here.
Analyst in corp dev here. 105 is definitely low if you're at a F500 type company and/or in a major city, even cheap ones. If it's small fintech, perhaps you can negotiate some stock.
Would you like to share a little about your experience as an Analyst at CD? Want to see if your idea of career progression is different since you are starting at the analyst level.
What is your comp package like?
Also agree that 105 is on the lower end. First year associates in cd could reasonably expect $120k comp package
At some point I'll make a thread, but happy to answer any questions you might have here for now. I did ~2 years in banking first, then went into CD. For people in my position, I think the norm is base ~100 and bonuses of 10-20%. So about flat (can be slightly lower) compared to IB analyst salaries, but you're working ~50 hours instead of ~80+ (during deals you can get >60). Raises are 2-3% a year, so pretty small unless you get promoted. Hierarchy is analyst - manager - director - VP - SVP. Most analysts / senior analysts come from banking. I think the quickest career progression you'd see at a large public company would be becoming a manager around 26-27, maybe a director at 30, VP by 33-34, and SVP in late 30s. It all depends on the situation though. If you're an analyst or manager and your VP / SVPs are pretty young, it'll be tough to move up if they don't leave.
It takes longer to work your way up right out of undergrad. An analyst might take 3 years before becoming an associate. 1-2 years of banking can get you to associate right away. 3 years of banking can get you to senior associate.
We'll look mostly at ex-bankers for positionsnin cd because of the relevance of the skill set. It's also easier to find someone with transaction experience in TMT at an ib as opposed to a consulting firm.
My days consist of internal strategy meetings, catching up with BU heads, doing independent research, meeting potential targets, or meeting with bankers / industry experts. At the end of the week I try to come up with something actionable based on our strategy meeting from earlier in the week. I present my recommendations (can be formally or informally) and then we go from there. Sometimes initiatives come directly from the top, in which case it reminds you a bit of how you get staffed on projects in banking.
When there's a deal, we spend a lot of the day coordinating with bankers, lawyers, consultants, etc.
Currently in an F200 FLDP with an opportunity to rotate through Corp Dev or Corp Strat. Thanks for this AMA, it's helpful to see what the opportunities look like in specific areas in corporate finance. You said that you did 3 years of banking and just started in CD. Would it be correct to assume that you're 25-26 years old, or did you do something else for a few years? Do you feel like you'll need an MBA at some point in the future to keep advancing?
Thanks for the answer!
As I said, I'm currently in an FLDP that offers an opportunity to rotate through corporate strategy and corporate development. At my company, those groups are different. My short-term goal is to be in a position similar to yours: Researching and carrying out M&A opportunities for a company (or being part of the team that identifies and carries out money saving projects for the company). Do you have any advice on how I could get there?
My current rotation is a product-line controllership role. It has some forecasting, but is mostly cost tracking. My thought is to have my next rotation be in corporate FP&A, and then to have my 3rd and final rotation be in corp strat/dev with a goal to try to stay after the end of the program.
Thanks again for your time.