Curious to hear more about corp dev as an exit opp and ultimate career path. What are the hours like, salary, what is the ultimate career trajectory look like? Would be great to get insight from those who have made the transition from investment banking (or PE) into corp dev and how that has been going.
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I left banking as an analyst to do corp dev at a tech company. Hours were okay - our group was pretty execution focused, so when we weren't executing, hours were around 40-50 hours a week. When executing, was better than banking but still decently long hours and some weekend work. Ultimately, the career path is you either stick it out in corp dev and slowly move up the ranks once people ahead of you leave, or you can pivot to things like strategy, investor relations, or join a business unit and have actual P&L responsibility. Comp wise, it varies a lot by company but I was around $140K all in to start as an associate. Manager was around $175K. Would say that I would have probably capped out around $250K cash unless I got to a senior director or VP level position. I left for comp reasons and some of the corporate politicking.
Based on your username I assume you went back to PE? How did you navigate that transition and find those opportunities?
I went to a shop that aligned well within the longer-term, owner mentality vs. the traditional 3-5 year investment cycle. Don't think I would have been competitive with the run of the mill funds.
The biggest difference between corporate development and banking is how standardized the job is. Banking is basically the same everywhere. Every bank has its own quirks, but the process, expectations, and type of work are pretty consistent no matter where you are.
Corp dev isn’t like that at all. It really depends on the company, the industry, where the team sits in the org, and honestly how much internal influence the head of corp dev has.
At a large public company, corp dev usually sits outside the business units. The business teams are the ones that ultimately decide whether a deal happens or not. In those roles, corp dev is more of a strategic and financial partner — you’re running valuation and accretion/dilution, helping the business teams think through the opportunity, and then helping execute once there’s alignment. The hours are usually pretty reasonable, like 40–50 a week, with some busier periods when deals are active.
At smaller companies or PE-owned portfolio companies, the role tends to be very different. Corp dev is often much closer to leadership and may actually have go/no-go decision power. You’re less of a middleman and more directly involved in shaping strategy and pushing deals forward. That usually means longer hours, but also more responsibility, more visibility, and often better pay.
Title progression in corp dev looks like a normal corporate ladder — analyst to manager to director to VP — but the timing can vary a lot depending on the company. At bigger, slower-moving companies it can take longer, while smaller or fast-growing firms tend to move people up more quickly.The biggest difference between corporate development and banking is how standardized the job is. Banking is basically the same everywhere. Every bank has its own quirks, but the process, expectations, and type of work are pretty consistent no matter where you are.
Corp dev isn’t like that at all. It really depends on the company, the industry, where the team sits in the org, and honestly how much internal influence the head of corp dev has.
At a large public company, corp dev usually sits outside the business units. The business teams are the ones that ultimately decide whether a deal happens or not. In those roles, corp dev is more of a strategic and financial partner — you’re running valuation and accretion/dilution, helping the business teams think through the opportunity, and then helping execute once there’s alignment. The hours are usually pretty reasonable, like 40–50 a week, with some busier periods when deals are active.
At smaller companies or PE-owned portfolio companies, the role tends to be very different. Corp dev is often much closer to leadership and may actually have go/no-go decision power. You’re less of a middleman and more directly involved in shaping strategy and pushing deals forward. That usually means longer hours, but also more responsibility, more visibility, and often better pay.
Title progression in corp dev looks like a normal corporate ladder: analyst to manager to director to VP. The timing can vary a lot depending on the company. At bigger, slower-moving companies it can take longer, while smaller or fast-growing firms tend to move people up more quickly.
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