Transition to Corp Dev
Has anyone transitioned to corp dev (or even started in corp dev)? How has your experience been?
Looking to know a bit more of this career path from the inside
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Hi @macaco, whoops, looks like nobody chimed in here.... maybe one of these discussions below is relevant:
More suggestions...
I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
Bump
I made the switch to corp dev out of banking about 6 months ago. Personally I enjoy way more than IB. The work is much more interesting and strategic. Corp Dev is a very loaded term and can mean a lot of different things depending on the sector and company. Yes it’s M&A but it can also be things like partnerships, high value customer engagements, investments, strategic planning etc. Every team will be different. As a banker I saw that corp dev at large old school companies can just be banking all over again, while at other firms you get a wider breadth of experience.
What type of bank were you at before and can you describe your corp dev company (F500/startup/etc) and what title you had at both? Also wondering what kind of paycut you were expecting to take in the move?
Worked at BB and joined a mid size public company. Left right after my AS2 promote. Didn’t have to take a pay cut was nice.
How was recruiting for you? Was it a formal process far in advance like buyside options or something that just came up? I'm starting my IB stint and corp dev has always been on my radar, happy to see you're liking it
Sure. I am currently an analyst/associate at a Fortune 300 utility. I am going to keep this relatively high level at first so you can take the lead.
Like with entry-level IB and PE roles, this is primarily an execution role. It is about doing the deal work, not making decisions. When buying a business, it is very similar to what a PE associate would do. Just with different financing and instead of pitching IC you pitch the board/c-suite/operations team. If you are selling subsidiaries, you will be spending a lot of time just getting the data in a useful place so you can do the analysis. Lots of sumifs and pivot tables. Like with IB and PE, PPT skills are grossly underrated. Being able to get your ideas into a simple, visually appealing, manner is at least as important as knowing your way around Excel.
I'm currently considering moving into a corp-dev type role at a utilities as well. Are you happy with your decision to move and do you think it was worth having a slower salary progression for more WLB?
This is a very good role for me. I am touching on far more of the process even if it is at a much… thinner level compared to an IB role. Which is what I want. IB may be the advisory function that is broadest of all the advisors but there is still a lot that IB just doesn’t touch. It also helps that I am working at Dominion and, well, you can read about what we have done in the M&A space and are speculated to be doing over the next 6-8 months.
In terms of the comp, I have no problem with it. Sure. I am not getting paid at the level I would be in IB or PE or even VC but it is still a good compensation package. And unlike in those fields I actually have time to enjoy life.
Also, just for reference, this is my first job out of law school and my first non-internship/pt-job.
Mind if I Pm you?
I started my career in Corp Dev. It’s hard to generalize the experience bc it could be a combination of anything & everything strategy/growth/m&a related or could just be focused on one single thing. Just depends on the team, it’s role at the company, and the company’s goals. That is what keeps Corp Dev exciting because you always know that if you move over to a different company you could very well be doing something completely different from your last role.
Career progression is probably the most annoying part of the industry because most companies outside of large-cap tech (and maybe not even them) don’t have a structured upward promotion system so to move up you always have to keep one foot out the door. Most people stay in their Manager/Director/VP/SVP roles for 3-5 years and each team will probably be less than 10 people including juniors anyways so if there isn’t an opening at the right time at your current company you have no option but to leave. And in my experience people in senior Corp Dev roles love their lifestyle so they don’t mind career stagnation until the right opportunity comes up elsewhere
I was in PE before my Corp Dev role now and while the pay cut wasn't the easiest pill to swallow, no medicine is. Working the long hours for so long was just too mentally taxing and physically unsustainable. My role at a F500 company is primarily M&A where we do probably 15+ deals a year on smaller operators (EBITDA ~$5M) along with some strategy. My role is approximately 80% M&A and 20% Strategy with 0% integration...this was my ideal scenario. I'd say it's much more fulfilling to grow something rather than "add value" in PE or simply being an advisor like IB, but that's just my personal preference. I'd say the real perk of the job would be getting to work at 9am and leaving by 4:30pm every day and half days on Fridays. This along with the mid-6 figure salary in a MCOL city means I get to enjoy my life again. Is it the most glamorous and prestigious job that every 18–24-year-old wants? No, probably not. But honestly, it's the job that most of them are going to want by the time they hit their 30's. Very few people are actually cut out to be PE Partners or IB MD's because of the total life commitment it takes to do that. With that in mind, why not start enjoying your time and money sooner and take the $120k Corp Dev Associate position instead of working 50-60 hours MORE per week than them to earn an additional 60k?
At what level did you join cord dev and how long have you been there?
I joined at the manager level and have been here for about 4 years now.
What kind of pay cut would you have to take if you left as a IB VP? At that level, you’re making ~500k. Is 300k all in s reasonable target? I wouldn’t mind sliding into corporate at 300k all in pay if it meant I worked 40 hours/week instead of 80
$300k is probably doable, but definitely at the higher end / may involve some different comp structures (think large bonus potentially contingent on closed deals, equity, deferred comp, etc.).
You will still most likely be working more than 40 hours in these roles too, since you're likely in a full deal quarterback role, with some ancillary responsibilities and limited help from peers/juniors.
Started in Corp. Dev. after a stint in a FLDP. The career path is relatively simple depending on your group:
Pure play M&A at a Roll Up: Keep buying until the platform hits their target EBITDA. If you do 2 years of IB you will start as a manager and as the platform grows, so will the team below you. You will answer to the Biz Dev leader (likely) and maybe move your way to VP of Growth or some other tacky title before an exit.
Corporate (Public mostly): Do your time, bring up good ideas, put together good presentations, and aid in integration to eventually move up as guys leave (or you jump around for promos every 2-3 years).
PE Backed Portco: This can be a fun one. Heavy deal flow, opportunity for some work on the integration side and really make an impact. If you can excel in those then there is the unlikely but still possible path to a role at the PE firm (likely on their operations team with a path to CFO type role at another port-co), or the more likely movement to a leadership role within the company over time. Movement here is more lucrative but obviously when a sale comes through you could be out of a position pretty quick. If honeywell comes and picks up your company, they are going to expand their internal team by 1 guy and then say "cya" to everyone else.
Ditto to the PE Portco --> join a PE Ops team / join another Portco promotion to eventually be C-suite.
Very underrated path IMO if you're a top performer.
Would having consulting experience make this an easier transition?
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