Charles Aris is a recruiter out of North Carolina that places ex-strategy consultants. Yes, you should sign up for their newsletter. They do great work. Some of their post-consulting job postings here.
EVP of Strategy & Corporate Development (Boston – PE-backed Medical Device)
Our client has partnered with the Charles Aris team to identify an EVP of Strategy & Corporate Development who will lead the organization’s entire M&A lifecycle from market analysis to postmerger integration. The EVP will report directly to the firm’s CEO and will work closely with its entire leadership team and board of directors. In addition, the EVP will work in a PMO capacity, managing multiple corporate initiatives. The ideal candidate has five years of management consulting experience in a top firm in addition to five years of end-to-end M&A experience in precision medical device manufacturing.
Dude. That sounds awesome. Lead a group that handles the M&A lifecycle? Report directly to the CEO, and work with the Board of Directors to map out the corporate strategy? Figure out where to compete? Screen acquisitions? Work with investment bankers? Great.
Wait. . .work in a PMO capacity? Wha? Manage multiple corporate initiatives? This is starting to sound more like strategic planning. All of a sudden, a smart candidate may start asking questions like: 1) How big is this company? 2) How many direct reports will I have? 3) What is the history of acquisition and success? 4) What happened to the last person who had this role?
Director of Strategy (Chicago – Publicly Traded Industrial Manufacturer)
Our client is a rapidly growing, publicly traded industrial manufacturer that serves multiple industries. The company’s corporate strategy team is growing and is adding a Director of Strategy. The corporate strategy team reports to the Chief Commercial Officer (the second-ranking executive in the company) and interfaces regularly with the organization’s CEO and board of directors. The team focuses on organic and inorganic growth, and manages the annual strategic planning process across all company divisions. Perhaps most importantly, the team has a history of promoting strategy team members into general management roles. The ideal candidate has an MBA degree from a top institution as well as two to three years of experience in a top-tier consulting firm.
This is the part I like. . . a career path to general management. For some this is the dream. Consultant – Director of Strategy – General Manager. The Achilles’ heel of management consultants is the sour fact that we often don’t have P&L experience. Namely, we give advice, but we don’t implement.
VP of Portfolio Operations (San Fran – Middle Market Growth PE Firm)
Our client is a top-tier middle-market growth private equity firm seeking a Vice President of Portfolio Operations who, while focused on results, will build relationships with each of its portfolio companies. The leader in this role will tailor each solution to the portfolio company with which she or he is engaged, working directly with founders, CEOs, management teams and investing teams to build and scale their organizations. The VP of Portfolio Operations will participate in every aspect of identifying, selecting, assessing and working with portfolio companies to drive enterprise value.
Private equity is booming. Of the 48 positions that I counted on their job board (as of 04/27), 8 of them were working for PE firms.This one is particularly interesting since you will be working in the PE firm and many of their individual companies. Power + Variety + Money + Results? Amazing.
Senior Director of Promotions (Northeast – Fortune 100 Retailer)
Our client is a Fortune 100 retailer and a market leader in its category. Reporting to a Vice President, the Senior Director, Promotions will be responsible for leading our client’s multibillion-dollar promotions business. In this fast-paced, growing business, the successful candidate will develop the strategy, effectiveness, design and execution of promotions to ensure that the company achieves its ongoing financial goals. The ideal candidate will have four to five years of post-MBA experience with a top-tier strategy consulting firm. Retail experience is strongly preferred.
Okay, I would like for you to read the 2nd sentence again. Multi-billion dollar promotion business. Do you know much $1 billion of promotions spend is? As context, 1 billion seconds = 31+ years. That is major budget.
Senior Manager – Business Model Innovation (PA – Fortune 500 Food & Beverage)
Our client is a global leader in the food and beverage space. The company is seeking a Senior Manager, Business Model Innovation to lead a new business unit focused on expanding the organization’s brand to new business models – specifically experiences. This Senior Manager will also lead a quarterly “Shark Tank” initiative to generate creative business ideas. The ideal candidate has two or three years of post-MBA experience at a top management consulting firm, as well as an MBA degree from a top institution. This candidate will have spent at least 50 percent of that consulting time working on growth strategy.
Okay, “business model innovation” already sounds cool Then, what about leading the quarterly “Shark Tank” initiative to generate creative business ideas. A.w.e.s.o.m.e.
In the end, management consulting is one of the fast-tracks to career goodness. Not for everyone, but clearly this creates good options for you. I tell students it is like buying an call option with little premium.
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