Corporate Development Team Structure

Building an effective corporate development team is critical to executing a successful M&A strategy. The right structure depends on company size, deal volume, and strategic priorities.

Organizational Models

Centralized Corporate Development

Description: A dedicated team reporting to the CEO (or CFO) handles all M&A activity.

Best For:

• Companies doing 2+ deals per year
• Organizations with $500M+ revenue
• Businesses pursuing programmatic M&A

Advantages:

• Deep M&A expertise and institutional knowledge
• Consistent deal execution methodology
• Efficient resource allocation
• Strong relationships with advisors and targets

Disadvantages:

• Can become disconnected from business units
• May lack deep operational knowledge
• Requires critical mass to justify overhead

Typical Team Size: 3-15 professionals depending on company size

Hybrid Model

Description: Central CorpDev team partners with business unit strategy teams.

Best For:

• Large diversified companies
• Conglomerates with multiple business units
• Organizations with 5+ deals per year

Advantages:

• Combines M&A expertise with operational knowledge
• Business units feel ownership of deals
• Scalable across multiple simultaneous transactions
• Better integration outcomes

Disadvantages:

• Requires coordination and clear roles
• Potential for conflict between center and business units
• More complex governance

Ad Hoc Approach

Description: Finance or strategy team handles M&A on an opportunistic basis.

Best For:

• Smaller companies (<$100M revenue)
• Infrequent acquirers (less than 1 deal per 2 years)
• Early-stage M&A programs

Advantages:

• Lower fixed costs
• Flexibility to scale up/down
• Can leverage external advisors

Disadvantages:

• Lack of M&A expertise
• Inconsistent execution quality
• Difficult to build institutional knowledge
• Heavy reliance on external advisors

Key Roles in Corporate Development

Head of Corporate Development

Responsibilities:

• Define and execute M&A strategy
• Lead deal sourcing and evaluation
• Manage deal negotiations
• Present to board and senior leadership
• Build and mentor the CorpDev team
• Manage advisor relationships

Background: Typically investment banking, private equity, or strategy consulting with 10-15+ years experience.

Reports To: CEO, CFO, or Chief Strategy Officer

Director / VP of Corporate Development

Responsibilities:

• Lead individual transactions end-to-end
• Build financial models and perform valuation
• Manage due diligence workstreams
• Coordinate with legal, finance, and business units
• Support integration planning

Background: 7-12 years in investment banking, corporate development, or PE.

Corporate Development Manager / Senior Associate

Responsibilities:

• Financial modeling and analysis
• Due diligence coordination and execution
• Market research and competitive analysis
• Prepare board materials and investment memos
• Track pipeline and CRM management

Background: 4-7 years in banking, consulting, or corporate finance.

Corporate Development Analyst / Associate

Responsibilities:

• Market research and target identification
• Preliminary financial analysis
• Data room organization
• Presentation development
• Process management and coordination

Background: 1-4 years, often post-investment banking analyst program.

Integration Lead (for active acquirers)

Responsibilities:

• Plan and execute post-merger integration
• Coordinate with functional teams
• Track synergy realization
• Manage Day 1 readiness
• Post-close monitoring and reporting

Background: Operations, strategy consulting, or program management.

Team Sizing Guidelines

Small Company ($100M-$500M revenue)

Deal Volume: 0-2 deals per year

Team Structure:

• 1 Head of CorpDev (or CFO wearing the hat)
• 1 Manager/Analyst (optional)
• Heavy use of external advisors

Mid-Size Company ($500M-$2B revenue)

Deal Volume: 1-3 deals per year

Team Structure:

• 1 Head of CorpDev
• 1-2 Directors/VPs
• 1-2 Analysts/Associates
• Part-time integration support

Large Company ($2B-$10B revenue)

Deal Volume: 2-5 deals per year

Team Structure:

• 1 Head of CorpDev
• 2-3 Directors/VPs
• 2-4 Managers/Senior Associates
• 1-2 Analysts
• 1 Integration Manager

Enterprise ($10B+ revenue)

Deal Volume: 5+ deals per year

Team Structure:

• 1 SVP/Head of CorpDev
• 3-6 Directors/VPs (sector or function-focused)
• 4-8 Managers
• 2-4 Analysts
• 2-3 Integration leads
• Dedicated business development team

Reporting Structure

Corporate Development typically reports to one of three executives:

Reporting to the CEO

Pros:

• Maximum strategic alignment
• Direct access to decision-making
• High organizational visibility

Cons:

• CEO may have limited time for CorpDev
• Can create tension with CFO

When It Works: CEO-driven M&A strategy, transformational deals

Reporting to the CFO

Pros:

• Natural fit with finance and FP&A
• CFO deeply involved in deals
• Good board relationships

Cons:

• May emphasize financial over strategic considerations
• Could limit access to CEO

When It Works: Most common structure, particularly for financial buyers

Reporting to Chief Strategy Officer

Pros:

• Strong strategic alignment
• Often more time than CEO/CFO
• Can coordinate with other strategic initiatives

Cons:

• CSO may lack deal experience
• Sometimes seen as lower priority than CFO reporting

When It Works: Companies with strong strategy function, transformation focus

Essential Skills for CorpDev Teams

Technical Skills

• Financial modeling and valuation
• Accounting and financial statement analysis
• Legal and contract review
• Data analysis and market sizing
• Project management

Soft Skills

• Negotiation and influencing
• Executive communication
• Cross-functional coordination
• Relationship building
• Strategic thinking

Domain Knowledge

• Industry expertise
• Competitive dynamics
• Technology trends
• Regulatory environment
• Integration best practices

Building Your CorpDev Function

Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1-6)

Objectives: Establish credibility and basic infrastructure

Key Activities:

• Hire Head of CorpDev
• Define M&A strategy and criteria
• Build target screening process
• Establish board governance
• Develop relationships with advisors
• Create initial playbooks and templates

Phase 2: Professionalization (Months 6-18)

Objectives: Build repeatable processes and expand team

Key Activities:

• Hire additional team members
• Implement deal management software
• Develop comprehensive playbooks
• Execute first few transactions
• Build integration capabilities
• Establish metrics and reporting

Phase 3: Optimization (Months 18+)

Objectives: Drive efficiency and excellence

Key Activities:

• Refine processes based on experience
• Build proprietary sourcing capabilities
• Develop integration playbooks
• Create training programs
• Implement advanced analytics
• Expand into new deal types or geographies

Common Organizational Challenges

Challenge: Disconnection from Business Units

Symptoms:

• Deals that don't align with operational needs
• Resistance to integration
• Poor handoff from CorpDev to operations

Solutions:

• Include business unit leaders in deal evaluation
• Create dotted-line reporting to business units
• Joint accountability for integration outcomes
• Regular strategy alignment sessions

Challenge: Limited Resources

Symptoms:

• Can't handle deal volume
• Rushed due diligence
• Poor integration outcomes

Solutions:

• Prioritize ruthlessly - say no to marginal deals
• Leverage external advisors strategically
• Build rotational programs with other departments
• Invest in technology and automation

Challenge: Talent Retention

Symptoms:

• High turnover in CorpDev team
• Loss of institutional knowledge
• Inconsistent deal quality

Solutions:

• Competitive compensation including transaction bonuses
• Career development and rotation opportunities
• Interesting, high-profile work
• Strong relationship with leadership
• Recognition and visibility

Compensation Structures

Base Salary Ranges (US, 2024)

• Head of CorpDev: $250K-$500K+
• VP/Director: $180K-$300K
• Manager: $130K-$200K
• Analyst/Associate: $90K-$140K

Bonus Structures

Annual Bonus: 30-100% of base, typically tied to:

• Company performance
• Deal activity and outcomes
• Individual objectives

Deal Completion Bonuses: Common for transaction teams

• 10-25% of annual comp per closed deal
• Varies by deal size and complexity

Long-Term Incentives:

• Stock options or RSUs
• Typically 50-150% of base for senior roles
• Vesting over 3-4 years

Technology Stack for CorpDev

Deal Management & CRM

• CorpDev.Ai: AI-powered deal sourcing, pipeline management, and zero-entry CRM
• Affinity: Relationship intelligence and deal pipeline
• Salesforce: CRM for target tracking
• DealCloud: Purpose-built deal management

Financial Analysis

• CorpDev.Ai: AI-powered company intelligence and market research
• Excel / Google Sheets: Financial modeling
• Capital IQ / FactSet: Market data and comps
• PitchBook: Private company data
• Refinitiv: M&A transaction data

Due Diligence

• Datasite / Intralinks: Virtual data rooms
• Kira: AI-powered contract review
• Box / SharePoint: Document management

Market Intelligence

• CorpDev.Ai: AI-powered M&A research, target sourcing, and market mapping
• AlphaSense: Market and competitive intelligence
• CB Insights: Tech market intelligence
• Grata / Sourcescrub: Target identification

Collaboration

• Slack / Teams: Team communication
• Asana / Monday: Project management
• Miro: Virtual whiteboarding
• Zoom: Video conferencing

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Activity Metrics

• Number of companies screened
• Number of NDAs signed
• Number of management meetings
• LOIs submitted
• Deals closed

Quality Metrics

• Time from first contact to close
• Deal success rate (LOI to close)
• Integration success metrics
• Synergy realization %
• Post-acquisition performance vs. plan

Efficiency Metrics

• Cost per deal (internal + external)
• Time to complete diligence
• Integration timeline
• Team capacity utilization

Best Practices

1. Build for Your Stage

Don't over-invest in infrastructure before you have deal flow. Scale team as deal volume grows.

2. Hire for Versatility

Particularly in smaller teams, hire generalists who can handle multiple aspects of deals.

3. Invest in Relationships

Both internal (business units, finance, legal) and external (bankers, lawyers, targets) relationships are critical.

4. Create Playbooks

Document your processes. Every deal should improve your institutional knowledge.

5. Balance Insourcing and Outsourcing

Use advisors for specialized expertise, but build core capabilities in-house.

6. Think End-to-End

Don't just focus on closing deals. Integration success is how you create value.

7. Measure What Matters

Track leading and lagging indicators. Use data to continuously improve.

8. Maintain Independence

CorpDev should be objective advisors, not deal advocates. The best deals are the ones you walk away from.

References

1. Building M&A Organizations - McKinsey
2. Corporate Development Strategy - Bain & Company
3. M&A Organizational Design - Deloitte
4. Corporate Development Careers - Harvard Business Review
5. M&A Team Structure - BCG