Corporate Development at Liberty Media (Moving from NYC to Denver)

Hey guys,

I'm currently a first year analyst in an investment banking program in NYC. I had interviewed with Liberty Media for their Corporate Development team and received an offer, but was hoping to get some feedback before making a decision.

I know I want to do Corporate Development/Strategy long-term, and have no real interest in working in PE/at a hedge fund. This seems like a good opportunity to transition into a role that's a bit more of a hybrid between traditional investing and corporate development.

However, the one thing holding me back is that the position is in Denver... I have no friends and no network in Denver, and long-term I still want to be back in NYC/San Francisco. If I do take the job, I plan on doing the 2 years in Denver and moving back to NYC after to do Corporate Development at another firm. Do you guys think it's going to be challenging to try to move back to a position in NYC after spending 2 years in Denver? Seems to me like Liberty has a decent brand name, but I don't know if Corp Dev teams in NYC look unfavorably upon non-NYC applicants.

Appreciate any thoughts/suggestions/input!

 

Denver is an awesome place to live...really young active city, you should have no problem meeting people with minimal effort.

Congrats, on the offer man. I'm pretty jealous. IMO John Malone is the greatest capital allocator to ever walk this earth. You're going get exposure to tracking stocks, spin-offs, JVs, complex deal structures, corporate investing, you name it.

You'll be able to write your own ticket.

God Speed.

 
Best Response

I doubt it will be quite as complex off the bat as another poster thinks but could be mistaken. Don't get me wrong: I think it's going to be very, very interesting work, but I don't think it's going to be nearly that complex for someone at your level: where you are analyzing deal structure strategies, etc. I wouldn't be shocked if the job is primarily data and market analyses, vetting out opportunities proposed by department management, etc.

The job will probably be stressful but incredibly interesting if you want to learn the ins and outs of the media, entertainment, digital, and telecommunication industries. If you don't intend to stay long-term Liberty could be a perfect move for you. They tend to hire externally instead of promoting from within and this would have been my number one drawback that I would normally point out. For you this can be perfect. John Malone has a reputation for being fucking insane and this makes for some wild M&A (or hopeful M&A activity) - you won't be working 9-5, but if you love variety, change, and challenges: this will have as much as you can get.

One thing to be aware of, however, is that relocating to NYC in 2 years might be hard. A relo package would be relatively expensive, you would still be relatively junior by corp. dev standards, and there would be no shortage of local talent. Justifying the increase in comp you would need to support the COL in NYC vs. Denver would be another challenge. I know plenty of companies that would balk at paying someone 30-35% more than they make now, even if the true impact to the candidate's cashflow is just COL + 10% AND the comp is within what is budgeted.

The experience you would get at Liberty would make you a very valuable candidate in San Fran, San Jose, and Philadelphia compared to the local candidate pools - so it would be easier for you to command a higher comp increase in these places. Only one of the three are in your preferred areas - but the other two are close enough geographically that you may not care. Another place where this experience would be "write your own ticket" valuable is in Europe. If you're open to those, jump on this job. If NYC is really your #1, you can take the job but should know that getting back there will be harder than if you were to stay in banking or find something else locally.

 

Lmao...my obsession with John Malone may have clouded my judgement on this one a bit...

All valid points. I think the sporadic nature of cd hiring could be problematic as well, especially if it is a 2 and out contract.

However, with a solid story and networking you should have many opportunities to get back to NYC.

 

I moved to a shit 3rd city to take a Corp dev job in a sector I was really excited about. If you don't mind the lack of a social life it's great for career development where you can really focus on work (and travel on the weekends)

My goal is to be back in NYC in the long term so I feel your dilemma as I think the job makes moving back to NYC much more challenging however l heard Denver is pretty sweet so I'd still take that role as it sounds like a pretty unique opportunity.

 

have a friend there who loves it. also went in knowing no one in denver. apparently it's a surprisingly young city and isn't hard to meet people.

don't know if you want to be this transparent about your situation considering how small the team is... i'm sure anyone at LMCA's corp dev team knows who this is.

one thing i'd mention is that the corp dev role at LMCA doesn't seem to be as complex as you'd expect it to be. appears to be more of a growth equity type role vs. anything else.

 

Thanks for the response, I appreciate your input!

That said, I don't really see the harm in anything I wrote and I wouldn't really be uncomfortable if someone from the company sees this and figures out who I am. If anything, I would hope that they know I'm taking the opportunity seriously and trying to get advice from others to figure out how the job fits in with my professional and personal goals.

 
bankingptsd:
bl00211:

If you do take the job, maybe suggest a divestiture of the Braves?

so essentially BATRA? why divest vs. the tracker?

Because they are shitty owners who only care about money.

Make The Braves Great Again.

MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 

I moved from NYC to Denver, and love it here. It's the number one city for millennial immigration for a reason..good social scene, active lifestyle, access to the mountains, good weather year round, great restaurant scene and fairly inexpensive when compared to NYC or the Bay Area. The city is supposed to double in size in the next two decades.

I know a couple of people who have done Corp Dev at Liberty and both had good experiences. One is now working with one of their subsidiaries in Europe doing M&A so don't look at this opportunity as a black hole with no escaping to larger markets, although most people I know who move here end up wanting to stay. I have friends in each of NYC, Boston and SF looking to move here due to cost of living and better work/life balance.

Also, Liberty's biggest downside was that it was way out in the suburbs in the Denver Tech Center, but now they are moving their HQ right downtown.

OP, feel free to DM me if you have Denver specifc questions.

 

As someone with a similar profile (2 years in banking, 2 years at a niche fund in a smaller market) I would highlight that making the move back to NYC will be more difficult than just staying there. From a logistical standpoint recruiting will involve a lot more phone calls, skype interviews and flights for final rounds. However, if it's a true two years and out role I'm sure your bosses will be understanding when you begin to recruit again. I've also found the industry knowledge I've gained by doing something more niche had been very helpful.

 

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