Head of Corporate Development

NielsenIQ•Chicago, IL

6d•$237,200 - $300,000

About The Position

NielsenIQ is in a rapid growth mode with the backing of Advent International. The NielsenIQ Strategy and Corporate Development team is embarking on a rapid growth transformation and is seeking a talented Head of Strategy and Corporate Development to lead M&A, divestitures, joint ventures, minority investments, and other inorganic growth activities for the business. As a direct report to the Chief Strategy Officer of NielsenIQ, the Head of Corporate Development plays a critical role in defining and executing the company’s organic and inorganic growth agenda. Because of this, this position will have exposure to all senior leaders across the organization and the entire C-Suite / executive leadership team of NielsenIQ as well as Advent International.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have at least 10-15 years of experience across either or both: Mergers & Acquisitions: Investment banking and/or Corporate Development, and a proven track-record of successfully leading/building a corporate development function. The candidate will also have experience closing a variety of different kinds of transactions (JVs, investments, partnerships, etc.)
Strategy Experience: Management consulting experience in a top tier consulting firm or top Corporate Strategy in a highly demanding, fast paced environment.
Strategic Thinker: Ability to think “big picture” while understanding the intricacies of the problem and the solutions to get there.
Industry Experience: The ideal candidate has spent time in the Information services industries and/or consumer packaged goods and retail
Structured and Logical Thinking: The ability to dissect a problem into an organized approach and quickly form a hypothesis against which to run test analyses as well as the ability to present complex concepts/ideas in concise, easy-to-understand terms is critical.
Analytical Aptitude: Analytical, methodical, and rigorous approach; ability to independently take apart complex business issues, perform research and analyses, synthesize conclusions into a value-maximizing business strategy.
Project Management: The candidate should be able to mobilize plans around key workstreams and drive execution in a strategic manner and provide comprehensive updates to senior leaders on status of execution, challenges, and successes
Personal attributes: Excellent teamwork dynamics are critical. The ideal candidate will show high levels of empathy, strong communication skills and an appetite for feedback. The ability to work both individually and manage/ lead team projects and team members across business units, as well as being an honest broker and objective sounding board, is crucial to the success of this individual.
The candidate selected for this position will be a creative, out-of-the-box thinker who is intellectually curious with a demonstrated interest in learning. This person will also need to be a self-motivated, high-energy individual who can easily function in a high demand, performance-driven environment. He/she must be accustomed to working on multiple tasks in parallel. This professional must demonstrate strong leadership skills, best demonstrated by the individual’s ability to gain credibility with team members and senior management.
Be modest in nature, recognizing the accomplishments of the team before the individual
Be highly motivated and possess vision and enthusiasm
Be comfortable acting as an individual contributor and as a team manager (Player/Coach)
Understand how to deliver on short time frames and be committed to meeting deadlines “no matter what”
Track record building relationships and receiving support from top management, ability to manage a broad range of stakeholders
Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity and a strong cross-functional background
Ability to influence important internal and external stakeholders
Be comfortable on his/her feet making presentations. The candidate will have strong executive presence and the ability to communicate at all levels of the organization

Responsibilities

Curate and grow a pipeline of potential deals, proactively developing ideas for growth and actively sourcing and screening targets
Represent NielsenIQ externally with M&A targets and related advisors / intermediaries
Build investment thesis for potential acquisition spaces and targets, and organize and conduct due diligence activities to validate
M&A and other inorganic activity in close collaboration with the C-Suite and other relevant corporate stakeholders
Leading the due diligence and deal execution process; including negotiations and management of cross-functional teams and outside advisors.
Driving the development and execution of a transformational and tech-enabled M&A agenda across multiple business lines.
Support in integration planning and management, on an as-needed basis
Assess potential divestiture opportunities, as needed
Drive divestiture processes – from banker selection, to data prep, to support on diligence, and ultimately deal documentation
Keep track of status and information for mixture of JVs and minority investments
Drive investment and decision making progress for any new potential partnerships
Drive development of corporate development team
Support three year planning process, particularly as it relates to building out inorganic growth opportunities for key business and regions
Support other strategic / partnership based initiatives as business priorities dictate