What level in Corp Dev after 2 years banking + 2 years PE?

If I wanted to move into corp dev / strategy after finishing my PE associate stint (with or without an MBA after) what level would that equate to within an F1000 or Middle Market hierarchy? Would this be an almost certain paycut from the ~$250-300 a PE associate makes or are there any roles with comparable comp?

 

this one is kinda tricky. on paper you only have 4 years experience which probably translates to senior analyst as far as HR is concerned. obviously you have high quality experience and your comp is a multiple of what most SFA receive given you're coming from PE. you would really need the hiring manager to push for you to come in at a higher level - managers typically have 6-9 years experience and sr managers/directors have 8-10+ years experience depending on their backgrounds. either way, yes you should expect a haircut if 250-300 is your starting point. this is the trade-off when switching to corporate finance - comp vs. better hours.

 

I agree somebody with that experience is crazy for taking a SFA role. My point is HR doesn’t differentiate between IB/PE and will only see 4 years of finance experience. Therefore a candidate really would need the hiring manager to push his application through the process and get a sr manager or director title approved to even be remotely close to competitive on comp.

 

There's a huge variation in corp dev comp depending on the sophistication of HR. Some firms treat it as basically a finance function, comparable to FP&A and treasury and compensate it as such. Other firms are more sophisticated and require/demand a more technical skill set and recognize the market value of the strategy/modeling capabilities. With a PE background, you should only consider the latter type of firm. Honestly, you will be bored and dissatisfied if you don't.

That said, $140K for director sounds low to me at any firm. I can tell you that I was recently approached for a cop dev gig in NY (director) that offered $250k to $300k base with a point of equity on every deal. I wasn't selected to proceed in the process but it's a data point.

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Esuric:
Acquire company for $20M, you keep $200K.

Bullshit. Unless these are tiny deals, an investment bank might charge 2% of the transaction cost to advise on it. No way in hell is any decent sized company going to pay half of that to a single corp dev employee (on top of a sizable salary), let alone to someone with 4 years of experience.

 

You don't know what you're talking about. You've made a whole series of assumptions that are wrong and I'm not going to disclose confidential information just to make a point to some idiot on WSO. If anyone wants more detail/clarification on the role I'm referring to, please feel free to PM me.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 
Esuric:
You don't know what you're talking about. You've made a whole series of assumptions that are wrong and I'm not going to disclose confidential information just to make a point to some idiot on WSO. If anyone wants more detail/clarification on the role I'm referring to, please feel free to PM me.

Nope. You're full of shit. If you were worried about disclosing "confidential information" you wouldn't have posted to begin with. It's also incredibly unhelpful for a Pre-MBA PE associate who's trying to get a realistic sense of compensation.

The more likely scenario is that a headhunter with a sketchy sense of ethics oversold the position, or somehow you fell into the process for a role in which you were grossly unqualified.

 

You're a clown and you don't know what you're talking about. I have to laugh at your comment that I wouldn't have posted a salary range if I really was worried about disclosing confidential information. Do you even know what confidential information is? You're also the main issue on this forum. Clueless, unappreciative know-nothing that doesn't accept the charity granted to him/her by more experienced, successful people.

If you knew how to talk (i.e., if you asked the question rather than make a belligerent accusation) not only would you have been given the clarification you're looking for, but you might have also been given the name of the recruiter in a PM. Now you get neither.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 
Esuric:
You're a clown and you don't know what you're talking about. I have to laugh at your comment that I wouldn't have posted a salary range if I really was worried about disclosing confidential information. Do you even know what confidential information is? You're also the main issue on this forum. Clueless, unappreciative know-nothing that doesn't accept the charity granted to him/her by more experienced, successful people.

If you knew how to talk (i.e., if you asked the question rather than make a belligerent accusation) not only would you have been given the clarification you're looking for, but you might have also been given the name of the recruiter in a PM. Now you get neither.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Well put

 
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Whether that comp plan is real or not, I can’t comment on. Offering incentives based on purchase price on the buy side is a horrible way to design a comp plan. You are basically guaranteeing that your directors over pay for deals. Not to mention one of the most important functions of a corp dev professional is to NOT do deals that don’t make sense for the company.

 

There was an excellent thread not too long ago that really expanded on what Esuric mentioned above - hell maybe he wrote it, I forgot.

In any case - all to say that corp. dev. / strat. varies WIDELY from firm to firm so it's a particularly difficult question to answer. All you can really do is gauge from a variety of responses. If it were my firm, F1000 energy company, you would likely be some kind of a senior manager (senior is a BS title add on honestly) and fall somewhere in the 150-225 number year one (don't forget RSUs, bonus, etc. above salary). Additionally, if it was a lean organization and you had the freedom to prove yourself, it could be a simple year to director (again, my firm in particular, and event actually witnessed).

 

These 250+ comp ranges seem more like anomalies, I think even 200+ is probably less likely than not. I think the base of 115-150, likely more towards the 115 and then a bonus of 10-30% is more realistic.

Also, all the comments about HR not knowing anything are totally off base. Corporate jobs are not finance job - just because you make 200+ with 4 years of experience does not mean you're "worth" that in a corporate role. One might personally not accept a job because the pay is too low but undoubtedly it will be accepted at that pay by an equally experienced person. In fact, one could argue that HR is the smart one in the room by no over paying a junior person that thinks they are worth more than they are.

Exact same thing in law - you go in house you're taking in upwards of 50% pay cut.

 

Disagree. A good CD team is critical and deserve the premium. Trying to go cheap actually destroys value for the company IMO. But of course it will be a downgrade on the pay from IB/PE at first no doubt because it's a different lifestyle, you do less hours etc... but choosing the right company and getting RSUs/options can make your overall comp pretty attractive if you're ready to commit to the place.

EDIT: There are a couple cheap guys that were hired last year and they bring in no value whatsoever which probably leads to missed opportunities for shareholders. Another consultant was brought on last month, a little more expensive and he's done more in a month than the others have in the past 12m.

 

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