Corp Dev Comp Megathread
YOE (since undergrad):
Title:
Comp (Base/Bonus/Other incentives):
Industry:
Job before Corp Dev? (IB,PE,etc.):
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a breakdown of compensation insights for Corporate Development roles:
Years of Experience (YOE):
Title and Compensation:
Industry:
Job Before Corp Dev:
For more detailed examples, you can explore the following threads:
- Corporate Development Manager Q&A: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/corporate/corporate-development-m…</a">Link
- Corporate Development: My Experiences and Background: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/corporate/corporate-development-m…</a">Link
Let me know if you'd like further insights!
Sources: Compensation Structure at the mid-management level in Corporate Development / Strategy / Finance, Corporate Development: My Experiences and Background, Corporate Development Manager - Q&A, The Other Road: Corporate Development Associate Fielding Questions, Corporate Development: My Experiences and Background
Title: CD Manager Base: 170k Bonus: 15-20% YOE:6 Job Before: IB Industry: TMT Location: VHCOL Hours: 40-50
YOE: 2 (both in IB)
Title: Associate
Comp: $175K base, 20% bonus
Industry: Technology
In HCOL?
Yes LA / SF
How do the hours compare to IB?
Much better, 40-50 vs. 70-80 in IB
Following
Previous role.
Associate role. $130K base, 15% bonus. Small RSU grants. 2 years of IBD prior experience.
YOE: 9
Title: Director of Finance
Comp: $170K base, 20% bonus,1% of management units, various one-time bonuses ($10-20K/yr)
Industry: Energy, utilities & mining; PE backed portco; MCOL
Big 4 audit to manager > FP&A manager > Director of Finance (only "finance" staff at portco, corp dev work split between me, CFO and commercial group)
How much are the management units expected to be at a transaction? Just curious how they work. Thanks!
They were a one-time issuance that vest over five years or at change of control. CEO/COO/CFO/VP's (management) represent >80% of the pool, directors/managers and other key/early employees the remaining. The approximate value at issuance was ~$20K/share, ~$50K now. In summary, A shares receive a preferred return of a %/yr, then 80/20 split to A/B shares up to the greater of a % IRR or some other thresholds and then 75/25 A/B split on remaining proceeds.
My understanding is that preferred returns, A/B/(C...) splits, and hurdles vary widely depending on the sponsor, industry, management team, etc. Have heard of other PE firms in my industry that have 90/10 A/B splits with higher preferred returns and hurdles than my sponsor. I also think it is more common for only C-level and VP+, maybe some key operating folks, to receive shares.
Hope this helps, Hendrick & Struggles and Charles Aris also have good CFO/Corp dev compensation reports that include a few equity figures.
Update
YOE: 10
Title: Director of Finance, Controller
Comp: $195K base, 25% bonus,1% of management units, various one-time bonuses
COL?
YOE: 5
Title: Associate
Comp: 125k Base, 55k Bonus
Industry: Industrials
Job Before Corp Dev: Consulting
Other key details: 50-60 hours on average, moderate COL city
Did most people in your team come from consulting vs IB? Did you have any issue trying to make that transition from outside a deal-focused role?
Great questions.
I am the only non-IB hire, everyone else comes from 2-4 years of IBD. I technically had Corp Dev experience elsewhere before joining my current firm , where i focused heavily on modeling and due diligence. My resume is very unique because 1) I had several different IBD internships, 2) Almost all of my consulting experience in some way touched M&A, and 3) I always grinded for roles I didn't have the right experience for. I was ultimately selected because at the time they wanted someone who could come in quick and do a more blended role of Strategy and M&A, but over time the two roles were separated and I became focused purely on M&A.
To anyone curious about taking a similar path, there are two types of M&A Corp dev roles. 1) Strong modeling is required, and 2) Limited modeling needed. Understanding what type of firm you're interviewing with is critical. In my current role the modeling is much more advanced than anything you do in IBD, and I have confirmed this with my friends who are 5+ years into banking. In my former role, the M&A skillset required was very basic, and not more nuanced than anything you do in banking. Others may disagree with all of this, but this has been my experience.
ignore job title
Corporate Development & Investor Relations - Sr. Analyst - Bay Area (VHCOL) Software Company (15Bn > market cap)
Base: 140k
Bonus: 20%
Equity Grant (4 yr): 88k
Refresher - Performance Based (1 year post start / vest over 4 years): 48k
Total Comp: 202k
Work 60ish hours a week - fluctuates
Prev experience: 2 years software ER; 1 year in corporate
How was the transition from ER? Im thinking this is the move Ill look to make in the future, so any pointers appreciated.
YOE (since undergrad): 5
Title: Corp Dev Manager
Comp (Base/Bonus/Other incentives): CAD $168k total comp = 140k base + 20% bonus; no equity comp
Hrs: 40-50 wk
Location: MCOL Canada
Industry: Healthcare (PE Portco)
Job before Corp Dev? (IB,PE,etc.): None
Other details: My boss is preparing a market rate adj. to my base so hopefully it's material but I don't have any idea what that is so I will update when I get that.
Did you get your market rate adjustment?
I got an extra 10k in base and was told anything else (promotion to director etc.) would happen as a result of YE review. We have had significant changes to our management team since my last comment.
In not as many words, no equity compensation, or the goalposts keep moving which is lame as we have good returns largely predicated on M&A. Hours still around the same and reflective of a slow period (not much M&A activity).
Motivation and career opps at an all-time low, but hey at least I leave at 5pm now.
Corporate Development Sr. Analyst - MCOL
Base: ~130k
Bonus: 10% (paid out 18% last 2 years)
Total Comp: ~150k
Industry: Tech
YOE: 7 (too many)
Hoping to receive promotion in Feb, will update with progression variance if possible.
Updating with Promotion Math
Base: 140K
Bonus Target: 15%
RSU Target: 20%
Total Comp: ~190K
Folks - there's a corp dev comp report that Lion Equity Partners puts out each year. Below is last years - may just require a little PDF editing if you need a clearer view ;)
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aaronpolack_corporatedevelopment-activit…
Seems like a dead link already. Any chance you caught it and downloaded? The pubic one i can see has the data redacted
New link (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aaronpolack_corporatedevelopment-activit…) Let me know if that works.
If you have the redacted version you can go into Adobe Acrobat Standard --> Edit PDF and delete the boxes that cover the redacted sections. Let me know if that works.
YOE (since undergrad): 5 years
Title: Corp Dev Manager
Comp (Base/Bonus/Other incentives): 220k base, 20-30% bonus, 15k annual incentive bonus, 150k signing vesting over 3 years
Industry: Tech in a HCOL city
Job before Corp Dev? (IB,PE,etc.): 2.5 years IB, covering tech
Other details: in 5 days, 40 hours per week with ~20 hours a week of actual work
How big of a company? Is this in SF?
very large tech company, working in San Jose (south of San Francisco)
This package is insane. How did you manage a 150k signing package? Was that during the covid boom?
I cover hardware and came in before the AI boom when no one wanted to do hardware
I've never seen a package like it as well - they tried to bring me in as an associate (2.5 years of banking experience) and was able to negotiate for Corp Dev Manager and the package
YOE (since undergrad): 4 of work experience, plus B School (6 years total)
Title: Associate
Comp (Base/Bonus/Other incentives): 200 base + 40-50% bonus (cash)
Industry: TMT
Job before Corp Dev? (IB,PE,etc.): 2 IB, 2 PE, 2 B School
Looking at this thread, feels about right. Can’t keep comparing to my PE job lol.
HCOL city?
3.5 (almost 3 in current role)
90k + 10% target bonus (unsure what next year looks like but expecting 95k)
Energy
FP&A type role that I didn’t want to do, paid not that great, and wasn’t an industry I wanted to be in
Updating: new comp with ~3 YOE is 98k + target 10-15% bonus. About 13k for my 2024 bonus
Can I pm you?
May have a very similar role in HTX?
Averages from the link posted above:
Base/Cash Bonus/Equity/Total Comp
Analyst 94/16/3/114
Associate 124/26/11/161
Manager 138/28/16/182
Sr Manager 153/29/23/206
Director 194/50/50/293
Sr Director 235/67/73/375
VP 257/100/196/552
EVP/SVP 303/161/270/734
The middle 50%
Analyst - $85k-$112.5k base, $5k-$20k cash bonus, $90k-$132.5k total
Associate - $110k-$140k base, $10k-$40k cash bonus, $0-$2.5k stock, $120k-$182.5k total
Manager - $115k-$155k base, $15k-$30k cash bonus, $0-$20k stock, $130k-$205k total
Senior Manager - $125k-$180k base, $15k-$35k cash bonus, $0-$25k stock, $140k-$240k total
Director - $165k-$220k base, $30k-$60k cash bonus, $0-$50k stock, $195k-$330k total
Senior Director - $200k-$270k base, $45k-80k cash bonus, $10k-$100k stock, $255k-$450k total
Vice President - $211k-$300k base, $60k-$125k cash bonus, $40k-$207.5k stock, $311k-$632.5k total
Executive / Senior Vice President - $250k-$350k base, $90k-$200k cash bonus, $30k-$300k stock, $370k-$850k total
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Killing it / Top 10%
Analyst - $120k base + $30k cash bonus + $6k stock = $156k total
Associate - $164k base + $50k cash bonus + $40k stock = $254k total
Manager - $180k base + $51k cash bonus + $51k stock = $282k total
Senior Manager - $210k base + $50k cash bonus + $75k stock = $335k total
Director - $250k base + $100k cash bonus + $100k stock = $450k total
Senior Director - $306.5k base + $113k cash bonus + $200k stock = $619.5k total
Vice President - $336.5k base + $160k cash bonus + $410k stock = $906.5k total
Executive / Senior Vice President - $400k base + $276k cash bonus + $649k stock = $1.325mm total
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Poverty / Bottom 10%
Analyst - $70k base = $70k total
Associate - $90k base + $5k cash bonus = $95k total
Manager - $94k base + $4k cash bonus = $98k total
Senior Manager - $90k base + $9k cash bonus = $99k total
Director - $131.5k base + $15k cash bonus = $146.5k total
Senior Director - $175k base + $25k cash bonus = $200k total
Vice President - $175k base + $30k cash bonus = $205k total
Executive / Senior Vice President - $200k base + $45k cash bonus = $245k total
Thank you, this is really helpful. For the first few levels, would you say its roughly 2-3 years expected at each level?
lmao poverty
Senior Analyst at Fortune 500-1000 TMT.
Background: Top LACs. 1 year random management development program + 2.5yoe in current role.
$165k + 20% bonus. Company stock has been appreciating so a bit more. Pretty flat hierarchy, report directly to Director.
Senior Director in NYC (healthcare), 5 years post MBA experience in IB. 285 base + 40% cash + 10% equity.
Wow! Seems like an awesome gig. What was your IB background / recruiting process?
YOE (since undergrad): ~2 years
Title: Senior analyst, Startegy/Development/FP&A/IR
Comp (Base/Bonus/Other incentives): 110k/10%/121k total comp
Industry: O&G (F500)
Job before Corp Dev? (IB,PE,etc.): Corp dev/IR (O&G small cap) and short stint at M&A advisory shop/IB
YOE: ~4.5 years
Title: Corp Dev Manager
Comp: (Base/Bonus/Other incentives): 185k/25%/one time bonus on exit
Industry: TMT (PE Backed) in an HCOL City
Job before PE: 2.5 yr IB + 2 year PE
Other comments: ~60 hour work week, path to get promoted or move to ops/strategy if I want which is cool. Travel a lot which I also like.
This is pretty damn good if it's not NYC/SF
Unfortunately it is...
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