VP, Investment and Business Planning

dentsu•New York, NY

40d•Hybrid

About The Position

This role involves working closely with the CD&TO and leadership team to define and implement strategy across the organization. The VP will drive alignment and ensure cross-functional collaboration to meet company goals, track and report on key initiatives, and design measurable KPIs for capital deployment. Responsibilities include leading strategic development of investment plans aligned with Dentsu's Mid-Term Management Plan, providing business case analysis and due diligence for investments and acquisitions, and developing financial planning models. The role serves as a key partner for M&A objectives, tracks ROI, and collaborates with finance teams on budgeting and reporting. Additionally, the VP will support audit and compliance, sponsor continuous improvement initiatives, act as a strategic advisor to the CFO, build partnerships with global stakeholders, and mentor cross-functional teams.

Requirements

Three (3) years experience in investment planning, financial strategy, and M&A integration within global, matrixed organizations.
Experience leading post-merger integration, investment governance, and ERP/financial system transformations.
Experience with capital budgeting, financial modeling, and accounting standards (IFRS/local GAAP).
Experience with aligning budgets to Mid-Term Management plan, developing allocation proposals across initiatives (e.g., technology upgrades, acquisitions, innovation, market expansions) based on strategic priorities, establishing dashboards of investment performance against budgets +$100MM.
Experience with aligning multi-year investment roadmaps with corporate objectives, including: Expansion into new markets, reduction of operational costs, acquisition and integration of strategic companies and/or brands, transformation of workforce capabilities.
Business case development, including return on investment analysis, cost-benefit assessment, and scenario modeling.
KPI and performance metric design, tracking, and reporting.
Experience in End-to-end M&A lifecycle management including opportunity assessment, due diligence, valuation, negotiation, and integration.
Experience with Microsoft Excel (advanced functions, macros, Power Query), Power BI, Datasite, Intralinks, PitchBook, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Zoom.
Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in Accounting, or Economics or related field.

Responsibilities

Define and implement strategy across the organization.
Drive alignment and ensure cross-functional and cross-capability collaboration to meet company goals.
Track and report on the progress of key initiatives, designing measurable KPI’s to ensure that investment capital is appropriately deployed.
Lead the strategic development of short and long-term investment plans aligned with Dentsu's Mid-Term Management Plan and growth goals.
Provide rigorous business case analysis and due diligence support on new investments and acquisitions.
Develop and manage financial planning models, forecasting frameworks, and scenario analyses.
Serve as the key partner to acquisition sponsors, CFOs, legal leads, and operational leaders to deliver M&A objectives.
Align investment decisions with financial performance targets.
Track ROI and performance metrics across the investment lifecycle.
Collaborate with FP&A, controllership, and commercial finance teams to ensure alignment on budgeting, month-end close, and intercompany processes.
Support audit and compliance requirements related to investment and M&A activity.
Sponsor continuous improvement and process optimization initiatives to drive efficiency across investment and finance workflows.
Act as a strategic advisor to the CFO and executive leadership team, presenting investment insights and performance updates.
Build trusted partnerships with global and regional stakeholders across functions to influence and align investment priorities.
Mentor and lead cross-functional teams during high-impact projects and transformation initiatives.