IB associate --> Corp dev?

My plan is to get a top 10 MBA ---> work as an IB associate for 3 years to gain experience ---> then do corporate development, most likely at a high tech company since I have prior computer science experience. How realistic is this? How much could I expect to make in corporate development?

 

Not sure on salary. It's definitely doable, it's just on you to: -get into the MBA -perform well -get a good IB job -perform well -find the appropriate opportunity and beat all the other candidates for the few coveted positions

It'll be tough, but definitely not impossible.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Not sure of salary, but yes is definitely doable / a very common path (often by choice, but sometimes not by choice..)

Obvious point to call out - it will be easier to land a tech corp dev position if your IB experience is in tech, particularly in the SF bay area (although tech is a huge space / there are clearly other corp dev tech roles available outside of the bay area)

Hope this helps

 

Corp Dev Associates are low six figure (~110k) salary and maybe half the bonus you'd see in banking. So maybe around 150k all in at a well paying company. Three years post MBA, though, you'll be looking at a more senior role than associate but you'll still have no actual managerial experience so it'll be interesting to see what they do with you. Generally it's hard to get hired into a managerial position unless you have experience managing people or get internally promoted. However your experience would be one of a manager level person which would be more like 180-200k all in.

 

I'm not sure what is meant by "Corp Dev Associates," but coming out of MBA + 3 years of banking at the associate level would net you, at a minimum, a Manager of Corporate Development position. This would pay somewhere around $125K with $25-35K bonus in cash + stock. It could be possible to come in as a director depending on how much experience you have pre-MBA, which would likely pay $150-175K salary with $40-50K bonus in cash + stock.

You could also go straight into corp dev from MBA into a Sr. Financial Analyst role, which usually pays $80-95K base with bonus widely varied from company to company.

"Once bread becomes toast, it can never go back."
 
HashtagCorpDev:

I'm not sure what is meant by "Corp Dev Associates," but coming out of MBA + 3 years of banking at the associate level would net you, at a minimum, a Manager of Corporate Development position. This would pay somewhere around $125K with $25-35K bonus in cash + stock. It could be possible to come in as a director depending on how much experience you have pre-MBA, which would likely pay $150-175K salary with $40-50K bonus in cash + stock.

You could also go straight into corp dev from MBA into a Sr. Financial Analyst role, which usually pays $80-95K base with bonus widely varied from company to company.

"Corp Dev Associates" is referring to an associate level corporate development person, which is generally the post MBA position. Obviously all companies name their positions differently. I agree with you that MBA + 3 years IB is management level experience, the issue i've run into is that companies don't want to hire someone into a managerial role that has no management experience. They either promote from within to someone who already knows the ropes or hires someone who has been a manager. Especially in groups like Corp Dev which are a little higher profile. Obviously this will vary company to company, but I can guarantee this person will run into some issue on that front at some companies.
 

Don't IB Associates manage IB Analysts?? If true, then you will have management experience while working 100 hours a week. Also, the term manager in corporate finance doesn't necesarily mean you have people reporting to you. Business Development at my firm is Sr Managers and Directors, no Senior Analysts.

 

Congrats. It depends a lot on each company but you should expect to dedicate more time to corporate strategy (evaluating trends, markets, target analysis/selection, etc.).

Unlike banking which seems fairly structured, you will be expected to learn a lot on-the-go and complete a lot of work independently. In my experience its also culturally very different because it's just you working with fairly senior (older) folks vs. a team of peers.

 

Note that I haven't been dinged from anything yet, and most of the processses haven't even officially started. I'm primarily looking for advice on how best to sell myself in this situation.

 
JimmyDormandy:
check out Harvardgrad08's thread on corp dev (if you haven't already)- lot of good info

Thanks for the heads up. I missed that one somehow - great and informative thread. Here it is for anyone else interested in this topic:

Harvardgrad08

 
txjustin:
Tech, as a 3rd year associate, why are you considering leaving banking? I'm sure there are a lot of people that would be interested in a topic like that.

It's nothing ground breaking really. Mostly, it's because I'm burned out and feel that I'm stagnating; sometimes you just need a change.

I've been in banking for seven years now across two firms, plus a couple before that in an ops/then trading role. I realize that you can always learn more, but my curve has definitely flattened. I'm also tired of playing the role of the middleman without the ability to ever ultimately call the shots. Plus, the erratic hours from being at clients' beck and call never really go away - I'm in my mid-30's and have worked past 2am twice this week with another night past midnight. I want to help drive strategy and build a company over the long run instead of parachuting in for a deal process.

My current firm has good people, and I love the tech sector. If I stay here for awhile longer, it's not the end of the world. I've just come to realize that I'm ready for a new challenge, and there are some attractive ones out there right now (just need to figure out how to land one).

I'm not interested in ever being a partner/MD in banking. My ultimate goal is to start my own tech company, and today I don't feel that I am in the proper place to make that jump. I never planned to stay in banking this long, and I turned down buyside opportunities when I took my current job. My present thinking is that if I don't plan to do this forever, and I'm not stoked every morning when I wake up, why not find something new ASAP?

As a side note for the young guys, just remember that there will ALWAYS be job frustrations and a grass is greener mentality. I had coffee today with the CFO of a decent sized public company. His company is growing, profitable and in a great sector - seemingly a dream job for many people. He spent most of the time talking about his frustrations with investors/employees/the CEO...no matter how high up you go, it never really changes.

 

doing corp dev internship right now and talked to a few senior guys at the company (f500). most of them started out in ib, then were hired by one of their clients after 2 years, then went to a larger company or an MBA program. said analyst skills paid off in the corp dev world but the work was definitely slower. however he also said QOL was through the roof compared to ib and that you also got a broader experience, learning more about go-to market strategies, detailed synergies, etc.

depends on what you want to do. corp dev is less straight finance; has more operations and even marketing, which some around here might hate. i personally thought it was pretty interesting. everyone i talked to though said start at ib and then move to corp dev as your finance background is the foundation you need and after you finish your time as an analyst you can build up your knowledge of op's and marketing at a corporation. if you don't want to be doing just dcf models for the next decade and want to get a broader experience with better hours (at the expense of a huge bonus), then go for it.

heck, if you sign on with the right company and get some stock options you can make some serious coin that way. however if you want to get super rich or stay in more straight finance gigs, corp dev isn't for you. you have to stay on the sell side if you want that.

 

Since my group is corporate development and strategy, we come from both IB and mgmt. consulting. Myself and several other colleagues were M/B/B-types and we have bankers from places like Citi, ML, etc.

The role is "Senior Analyst", which even though I am pre-MBA, I have the same title as those coming directly from an MBA. We are in the same pay band, but they are at the higher-end of the band and I'm closer to the lower. The base salary is significantly higher than my base in consulting, but there is no bonus in this band, aside from a sizable sign on bonus. I didn't have to move, so no relocation was offered. The hours are not 9-5, but universally less than consulting and therefore IB. And limited travel/no weekends. The MBAs are all ~Top 5.

Of the most recent pre-MBAs directly before me, HBS seems to be the common next step. However, an MBA isn't required for advancement as the next step(2 years + promotion) would put one at post-MBA in both compensation and seniority. As far as I'm aware, this model is the ultimate goal of these types of programs: provide an avenue for external talent to enter in a meaningful capacity with enhanced exposure to senior management and problem-solving and then push them "into the business" after 1.5-3 years. This is how the company plans on building its management bench for the future. That said, in no way is it discouraged to get an MBA.

The ultimate benefits of a role like this are a) lifestyle b) exposure c) getting the perspective of how a business actually works from ground-up/inside vs. top-down consulting or banking. I do think the prestige/notoriety of the company does make a difference. If they are known as a management powerhouse, global leader, etc. than the breadth and depth of exit options will be more apparent than a lesser known or middle of the pack company. Folks have moved to PE from here.

 

Thanks for the great insight! The lifestyle aspect is definately a plus, but as far as pay is concerned, how big is the drop off from corp dev to PE. I know that after 2-3 years of banking the average PE salary (base + bonus) is usually in the $200k-$300k range. What would a "senior analyst" be looking at yearly? What's the typical base and/or bonus and are there any other forms of compensation offered (stock options, RSUs...etc) at that level?

 

My background:

Previous: 2 years in management consulting

Currently an analyst at a F500. Other analysts are ex IBD (Goldman, MS, JPM).

Pay vs PE:

None of our analysts get close to the 200-300k comp you would get in PE. Expect a base around 70-90 + 20-30% bonus.

raider4ever: could you please elaborate on the jump from corp dev to PE (how many yrs in corp dev, deal experience, size of PE firm)?

 

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