Business Development Director Private Equity

Baker Tilly•Chicago, IL

21d

About The Position

The Private Equity Business Development Director at Baker Tilly is a senior-level, strategic role focused on accelerating growth across the firm’s Tax, Assurance, and Consulting practices. This leader is directly responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities within the Private Equity sector in an assigned geography, while developing, managing, and expanding client and prospect relationships. The Director serves as a key member of the Private Equity Industry Practice team, partnering with practice leaders to shape and execute go-to-market strategies and drive industry-focused growth initiatives. This includes collaborating across service lines to develop innovative, value-driven solutions that support private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies throughout the investment lifecycle - from acquisition and due diligence through value creation, integration, growth, and exit. This role requires a strong understanding of private equity investment strategies, transaction activity, portfolio company operations, value creation initiatives, and market dynamics impacting sponsors and their investments, and is critical to enhancing Baker Tilly’s market position and delivering differentiated value to clients.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university required; graduate degree preferred.
10+ years of experience in Private Equity, Investment Banking, Transaction Advisory, Corporate Development, Financial Services, or related industries, or in professional services supporting these sectors (e.g., accounting, law, management consulting, or transaction advisory), required.
Minimum of 10 years of experience selling or delivering tax, assurance, and/or consulting services within Private Equity, Transaction Advisory, or Financial Services environments, required.
Demonstrated understanding of private equity investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, transaction lifecycles, portfolio company operations, value creation initiatives, and exit strategies.
Excellent sales skills and a proven track record of achieving KPIs.
Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to build rapport with partners, senior management, private equity executives, portfolio company leadership, and stakeholders of varying levels.
Driven and ambitious individual with a strong desire to succeed.
Strong understanding of emerging technologies and digital solutions supporting business development, client service delivery, and operational transformation.
Ability to work under a defined and planned directive with minimal direct day-to-day supervision for implementation.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Eligibility to work in the U.S. without sponsorship required.
Ability to travel up to 50% as needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing relationships with private equity funds/sponsors, operating partners, portfolio company executives, investment professionals/deal team(s), investment banks, lenders, and other transaction-related centers of influence preferred.

Responsibilities

Generate and manage a client-facing pipeline—lead, own, and participate in client pursuits, including client discovery, pursuit strategy, proposal development, and closing activities.
Represent the firm and its full suite of Tax, Assurance, and Consulting services serving the Private Equity ecosystem, including fund/sponsors and portfolio companies.
Develop and execute fund/sponsor coverage strategies (strategic account management at the fund/sponsor level) that strengthen relationships with prioritized private equity firms and identify new opportunities at the fund/sponsor across portfolio company investments.
Co-develop a sales plan for the assigned territory and report weekly on progress against that plan to senior management.
Demonstrate the ability to craft clear, concise, and compelling value propositions for services and solutions tailored to private equity firms, portfolio company executives, and other key stakeholders.
Lead the deployment of sales techniques and strategies to integrate services and resources across all lines of service and geographies.
Maintain deep knowledge of core service offerings and effectively position their application throughout the private equity investment lifecycle to influence decision-makers.
Create, sustain, and grow relationships with new and existing clients through regular, open communication; ensure performance standards and client satisfaction are consistently met, and proactively communicate and troubleshoot issues as they arise.
Build, maintain, and expand relationships across the Private Equity ecosystem, including private equity sponsors, operating partners, investment professionals/deal team(s), portfolio company executives, investment bankers, lenders, attorneys, and other centers of influence.
Lead strategic account management, planning, and support account ownership across priority sponsor relationships and portfolio companies to maximize new client acquisition, client penetration, and cross-service opportunities.
Support the development and execution of industry-focused go-to-market strategies, integrated client solutions, and business development initiatives that enhance the Private Equity practice.
Innovate and grow the Private Equity practice through rigorous and deliberate collaboration, teaming, thought leadership, and differentiated client solutions.
Have conversational knowledge of other major service offerings outside of your team(s) that intersect with your target market(s), leveraging the Firm’s strategy of providing integrated, value-added solutions.
Maintain strict compliance with CRM (Salesforce) requirements by consistently documenting opportunity notes and all related activities while maintaining an accurate, up-to-date pipeline of qualified opportunities in accordance with Firm protocols.
Attain closed business revenue goals associated with both new accounts and existing client accounts (as appropriate) to ensure a profitable return to the Firm each fiscal year.
Perform regular, aggressive, and prompt follow-up on all Firm-generated leads assigned from campaigns or ad hoc requests from practice leadership.
Maintain a clear understanding of who your team wishes to target for business development purposes—and why—while helping refine ideal client profiles, target sponsor lists, and strategic growth initiatives.
Track and analyze private equity market trends, transaction activity, capital deployment, and portfolio company needs to identify potential business opportunities.
Regularly inform practice leadership of changing market dynamics and other factors influencing accounts of strategic importance.
Collaborate with other Firm Industry, Service, and Geography Business Development leaders and practice leaders to execute an integrated Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy.
Perform account planning and key account research to optimize business development efforts and account penetration.
Conduct primary outreach efforts, coordinating with marketing personnel on campaigns including prospect calls, emails, sponsorship activities, networking events, and other mechanisms to secure meetings with centers of influence and prospective clients.
Coach, develop, and lead sales professionals and industry resources within the Private Equity practice while supporting business development professionals aligned by service line or geography.
Represent Baker Tilly at private equity conferences, industry events, and sponsor networking opportunities to strengthen market visibility and develop strategic relationships.