From what I gathered on this forum and other websites, it seems like this is very rare, since most corpdev analysts come in after 1-2 years in IB/consulting. But for those of you who did go into this kind of role right from undergrad, did you ever feel that you missed anything or face some career limitations by skipping IB/consulting?
I'm deciding whether to do this right now and would greatly appreciate any input people have.
Thanks.
Hi AutisticChimp, hope I can help. Do any of these links cover what you're looking for:
Hope that helps.
Do you have an offer to join Corp Dev? Is it a highly acquisitive company or are you going to be working mostly on organic strategy? Large company?
The biggest miss is that the training programs at larger banks for IB analysts are fairly rigorous. So you would likely lose out on that. And depending on deal flow you are or may not get enough modeling exposure. You will learn the deal process from a more elevated level though.
It's a mid-cap company, and it seems there will be both M&A/private placement deals as well as organic projects (which I don't mind). I wouldn't say they are 'highly acquisitive', it's been around 1 per year recently. I think it does come down to, as you say, the amount of live deals I can be exposed to, although I did want to go into corpdev eventually anyhow. Overall, I know I will be lacking compared to bankers in the first two years, but will I eventually be able to catch up in experience/credentials by staying in corpdev/going to bschool? Thank you.
I worked in Asia but I am also interested in hearing corp strategy/dev experiences in the US / Europe
Here are some experiences I heard from my colleagues who worked in MNCs (comparable to F100 in the US) in Asia doing corp strat/dev. Note that they are experiences in general though (not specifically for fresh graduates)
Strategy - It is more or less a supporting function to the CEO office. strategy decisions usually come from CEO or other senior management. So the work usually comprised of doing market updates for them or conducting research based on their ideas. You will get decent exposure in the process of listening to regional teams / different business functions reporting their businesses but the chance of crafting a strategy and advise the senior management is very limited
Corp dev - Depending on the industry, M&A in some industries is mainly driven by corporate decisions rather than pitches from bankers. Corp dev team is quite involved in many processes. analysis is quite detailed as they have more skin in the game and they can leverage their internal resources (materials from other similar transactions, in-house intelligence, etc.). The due diligence process done by them is rigorous given the resources and they have much more time conducting preliminary analysis compared to bankers. Ultimate decision is done by global teams / regional senior management. Deal sourcing is mostly done by corp dev though
Careers - It is hard to make to the top (regional C-suites / global head of a function) from both departments. The skill set is way too narrow (lack of operational experiences from strategy + M&A itself is very narrow and not transferable to other functions). You just cannot lead the fp&a/marketing/ops guys coming from purely strategy/M&A. So you most likely be a head of corp strategy/dev if you are lucky and report to the CEO/CFO. For juniors/mid-level managers, it is possible to transfer to a business function though and you can move up from there leveraging your network inside the firm. Prospect versus joining business function directly (via programs similar to FLDPs in the US) is debatable though
Started in Corp Dev right out of undergrad from a non-target. The biggest things I feel like I missed out on are a formal training program, working on multiple deals at a time (all depends on company), collaboration and commodore with other analysts (as I am the only junior person), and the certainty of exit ops/career progression.
However some positives I feel to working in a Corp Dev setting are; hours are great (40-50) with minimal weekend work, ability to manage entire deal process from sourcing to closing/operating, deal team typically consists of C-level executives, can specialize in certain industry and become an industry "expert".
Happy to help and answer any follow up questions. Best of luck in your decision!
If you don't mind me asking what has your comp evolution been like? I am in a hybrid corp fin/strategy job right now and I've got a review coming up... having another data point would be helpful!
Absolutely don't mind at all. In a tier 3 city at a small-med size healthcare operator. Started with base of 45k (wish I negotiated when I started) and bonus of 15-20%, dependent on how well company does and # of deals closed. Second year base should move up to 50-55k with similar bonus structure. Hope this helps!
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