What is the ideal YEO to exit to Corp Dev?

Specifically targeting Industrials. All I know is that PE isn't for me.

Is it at the associate level? VP? I know there will be a significant reduction in comp but at what level minimizes what you leave on the table?

Can an ASO exit to a Manager position? Can a VP exit to a senior manager / director position?

7 Comments
 
MMBanker14

VP in banking could land a Director role at F500. Maybe not first year VP who started as an associate, though, at least at some places. 

this really is not the case for desirable companies - unless you live somewhere undesirable / in flyover country like Iowa. 

Technically maybe F400-500 companies it's possible - but absolutely not for F100 (or F200) 

Associate maps to manger. VP/D1 maps to senior manager. I know global group heads that came in at corporate F200 VP. and Directors that came in at Senior Manager.

 

I used to work for a F200 and if there was a BB/EB VP candidate, I'm sure we would have considered them if a Director role had been open. We hired people with much less relevant experience at the Mgr/Sr Mgr level (and this was in a pretty good location - Chicago, LA type place). Unless you're trying to work at mega tech or maybe the best consumer brands, I'd be very surprised if this wasn't the case. When we were hiring Mgr / Sr Mgr, the best people straight from IB that we had interview were seemingly shitty associates. 

Maybe not the case for a recently promoted VP with just 3-4 YOE and nothing relevant pre-MBA.

Most F200 companies are not HQ'd in NYC or SF, and a surprising number of them are not household names. I mean look at the top 25 and you have UnitedHealth outside Minneapolis and Cencora outside Philly, Cardinal Health outside Columbus, Ford and GM in/near Detroit, Elevance in Indy, Centene in St Louis, Marathon in the middle of nowhere Ohio, Kroger in Cincy. Maybe a couple of those would have their Corp Dev group elsewhere but I kind of doubt it. I promise you Directors and MDs are not beating down their doors to come in as Directors in Corp Dev.

 
MMBanker14

I used to work for a F200 and if there was a BB/EB VP candidate, I'm sure we would have considered them if a Director role had been open. We hired people with much less relevant experience at the Mgr/Sr Mgr level (and this was in a pretty good location - Chicago, LA type place). Unless you're trying to work at mega tech or maybe the best consumer brands, I'd be very surprised if this wasn't the case. When we were hiring Mgr / Sr Mgr, the best people straight from IB that we had interview were seemingly shitty associates. 

Maybe not the case for a recently promoted VP with just 3-4 YOE and nothing relevant pre-MBA.

Most F200 companies are not HQ'd in NYC or SF, and a surprising number of them are not household names. I mean look at the top 25 and you have UnitedHealth outside Minneapolis and Cencora outside Philly, Cardinal Health outside Columbus, Ford and GM in/near Detroit, Elevance in Indy, Centene in St Louis, Marathon in the middle of nowhere Ohio, Kroger in Cincy. Maybe a couple of those would have their Corp Dev group elsewhere but I kind of doubt it. I promise you Directors and MDs are not beating down their doors to come in as Directors in Corp Dev.

point being - the company culture at most F100 / F200 is to not even take external applications at the director level. Exxon and Chevron are certainly that way. 

agree on no relevant pre-MBA experience being a relevant topic. Not sure Chicago / LA are similarly competitive locations though (ex. Exelon in Chicago is always dying for finance talent in Chicago...for a reason and the exception to the rule re: hiring bankers and leveling)  

 
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