Three coveted profiles in corporate development

In the ever-competitive market for corporate development talent in private equity portfolio companies, we’ve seen three profiles stand out to organizations that are motivated to pursue inorganic growth: “hunters,” “managers” and “integrators.” 

These nicknames encapsulate three different corporate development profiles who bring unique abilities to the table and who are experts in different stages of the inorganic growth process. Here’s an in-depth look at each profile and why they’re increasingly preferred for corporate development roles:  

Hunters:  

A “hunter” in the corporate development world refers to someone who is an expert in finding and landing proprietary acquisition opportunities. This person will source cold leads just as aggressively as they would from their own network.  

The individuals who encompass these traits generally have at least seven to 10 years of M&A experience and often begin their career in investment banking (and then potentially private equity) before making the move to a corporate development role with a significant sourcing mandate. The idea is to find someone senior enough to converse with targets but not so senior that they require a large team. 

Despite the record-high M&A numbers we saw in 2022, organizations still have a lot of dry powder to deploy into the market, they’re just being more selective about who they build relationships with. This is why having a “hunter” who can source deals from a variety of connections – and find the most promising ones – is increasingly important. 

Manager: 

The popularity of corporate development “managers” has to do with the ongoing need for airtight buy-side diligence and process management. These individuals may have fewer years of experience than “hunters” or “integrators,” and are often reporting into an M&A-minded CFO who is looking to ensure deal-by-deal quality. This type of candidate is primarily focused on increasing their reps to grow and develop in their careers. This individual could be coming straight out of private equity (likely the senior associate level) or could be a current/former banker with 4-6 years of experience. 

As more and more private equity-backed organizations prioritize M&A, even CFOs with the strongest M&A pedigree will often look for a full-time resource to help manage the deal process. “Managers” will not sit in board rooms, necessarily, but will instead spend most of their time working through the analysis it takes to adequately buy and integrate companies. 

Integrators:  

“Integrators” are experts at ensuring relationships go smoothly after a merger or acquisition. With the high volume of deals made in 2022, organizations need individuals who can manage the intricacies of successfully purchasing or combining two businesses (in fact, we’ve seen more of a focus on integration-oriented M&A executives in 2023 than ever before). 

Corporate development professionals aren’t expected to be experts at this, but motivated hiring organizations want candidates who have seen integrations done well and have what we refer to as “an integration mindset.” The best candidates will generally be more experienced (15+ years of M&A), have led a function and have played a hand in several integrations over the years, showing proficiency at navigating relationships to manage M&A after a deal has taken place.  

The takeaway: 

A steady demand for these three facets of corporate development points to a resilient M&A market. While actual deals may have slowed this year, corporate development hiring has not – the centrality of M&A to private equity-backed organizations has functions staying well-staffed to prepare for a possible influx of deal activity in Q4 of 2023 or Q1 of 2024. We also anticipate strong results in 2024 from deals made in 2022 or early in 2023 due to the number of “integrators” now being hired into this market. 

To learn more about our recruiting capabilities in corporate development, contact Diane Fedor at (336) 217-9198 or diane.fedor@charlesaris.com.