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Maybe at a smaller shop that isn't as regimented in their recruiting / cycling of associates. It's unlikely to happen at a large PE fund as they recruit associates after an analyst stint and keep them for 2-3 years and release the majority of them, with a select few making VP....where are you going to break into that process is the question - two years of banking then failed to get PE so you went to Corp Dev. and then spend 1 years there and jump back into the mix 1 year behind? It's just tough at the bigger shops
Agree with ResponsibleRinger.
I work in corporate strategy - recruited out of school (high level strategy, not the finance part part). After about a year or so of working at my CS gig, a guy I worked for during an internship in college referred me to a PE fund. I went through the interviews but pulled out of the process eventually.
It was a smaller fund (single digit billion in AUM), and they were looking to cover an industry I have had unique exposure to, which is why they were willing to give me a chance although I've never worked IB/am not a finance grad/can't even model.
So it is possible, but networking is your best shot.
The prior posts' points are valid, but my experience is a bit less rigid. I've come across a few circumstances where a corporate development exec transitioned into PE, typically at a senior level (principal or partner). That being said, a junior employee could in theory also be able to if they were in an active CD group and gained access to various facets of buy side work. From the senior level, I've seen two ways to do it (to MMs, not sure about UMMs or Mega):
VP of Corp Dev in an industry moved to a fund on the investment side within that industry. I have no insight into the hiring process, but his deal experience (went IB --> MBA --> CD) was sound (business made usually a couple acquisitions per year, including one meaningful one). He likely was able to leverage this buy side transaction expertise and couple it with very strong industry knowledge in a vertical of the industry to demonstrate value to the fund with that sector focus.
A VP of Corp Dev with great training at an industrial conglomerate and demonstrated value creation with acquisitions at his current corporation moved to an operating partner role at a well-known MM fund. As an operating partner, he helped set growth and margin strategy along with the CEO of the business and also served as an in-house corp dev resource for a buy and build strategy
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