Corporate Development Director

Wolters Kluwer•New York, NY

1d•$181,900 - $325,050•Hybrid

About The Position

The Global Corporate Development (GCD) team is part of Wolters Kluwer's Global Strategy group and reports to the CEO and Chair of the Executive Board. This team is instrumental in driving the company's inorganic growth strategy by partnering with divisional leaders and senior executives to source, assess, structure, and execute transactions. The team fosters a collaborative, high-performing culture with a history of internal talent development. In the past two years, the GCD team has completed nearly US$2 billion in transactions in the US and Europe, with deal sizes typically ranging from US$5 million to $500 million. This role offers significant visibility to senior leadership within a highly acquisitive company. Recent acquisitions include Finca Group carve-out from Isabel Group, RASi, Brightflag, and Libra.ai. The Director, Global Corporate Development will lead transactions with minimal supervision, acting as a senior individual contributor and deal leader within the GCD team. Reporting to the VP Americas, Corporate Development, this role is comparable to a senior ‘Vice President’ or junior ‘Director’ level in investment banking, with end-to-end transaction accountability and shaping of investment/deal recommendations. The position involves owning the execution of M&A transactions from initial intake through diligence, valuation, board memo preparation, negotiation, and execution. The Director will serve as a point of contact for internal stakeholders and external counterparties on active deals and will be accountable for recommendations presented to the VP and SVP of Corporate Development. While primarily US-based and focused on the Americas, Directors may contribute to transactions in EMEA and other regions as needed. The US-based team includes the VP Americas, one Director (this role), one Associate Director, and one Senior Analyst.

Requirements

9–12 years of experience across investment banking, private equity, or corporate development, with a strong record of leading M&A transactions.
Significant experience across Software, AI, and SaaS M&A, with a deep understanding of revenue models for subscription and usage-based businesses.
Familiarity with negotiating key commercial deal points (e.g., valuation, price adjustments, restrictive covenants, reps and warranties) and reviewing disclosures against due diligence findings.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Mathematics, or a related field.
Must have demonstrated experience leading transactions end-to-end, including negotiation of valuation and commercial elements in definitive documentation, and leading development of investment memos (or equivalent).
Ability to assess financial models critically and focus on key drivers, while ensuring mechanics are correct. Solid understanding of financial statements.
Proven ability to influence and advise senior executives; comfort operating in ambiguous, high-stakes decision environments.
Exceptional written and verbal skills; able to synthesize complex information into concise executive materials. Ability to synthesize complex diligence findings into clear, decision-ready narratives.
A preference for structure and standardization and an ability to project manage on compressed timelines.
Genuine interest in diverse businesses, emerging industries, and applied AI.
Proactive self-starter with strong ownership, attention to detail, urgency, and situational adaptability.
Advanced Excel (valuation and driver-based models), PowerPoint (executive-ready presentations) and Word capabilities. Proficient using research platforms (CapitalIQ, PitchBook) and managing data rooms.

Nice To Haves

MBA strongly preferred.
AI Fluency Preferred: Hands-on experience using and building M&A-related workflows using ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or similar platforms.

Responsibilities

Build deep fluency across Wolters Kluwer’s operating businesses and strategic priorities, and develop meaningful professional relationships across the Global Strategy group to drive alignment and effective collaboration on transactions.
Lead assigned acquisition and divestiture processes end-to-end, with accountability for transaction strategy, timelines, and outcomes.
Meaningfully engage divisional leadership, bankers, PE sponsors, and industry contacts to advance opportunities aligned with strategic priorities. Build and maintain trusted relationships with divisional GMs, SVPs, and functional leaders. Act as the day-to-day lead with target management teams, PE funds, and transaction advisors on selected deals.
Develop investment theses; frame key value drivers, risks, and trade-offs; prepare and present recommendations to senior executives.
Direct the development and review of valuation and operating models (DCF, comps, accretion/dilution, multiple-case operating scenarios); challenge assumptions and ensure analytical rigor rather than acting as the primary model builder. Directors are in a player-coach role and will take on valuation and operating model development on occasion.
Lead complex, cross-functional deal processes; set workplans, manage dependencies, and resolve issues across internal teams and external advisors under compressed timelines.
Oversee financial, commercial, technical, and operational diligence; synthesize findings into clear implications for valuation, structure, and deal risk; serve as escalation point for key issues.
Lead divestiture processes including carve-out planning, self-diligence, and coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
Mentor and review work of team members; raise analytical and execution standards across the group through coaching and feedback.