Director of Corporate Development
Posted Updated
Description
- The Corporate Development team is at the forefront of driving and accelerating GoDaddy’s next chapter of growth, playing a foundational role in identifying industry trends, building relationships with external partners, and identifying, negotiating, structuring, and executing strategic acquisitions and investments
- Reporting into GoDaddy’s Head of Corporate Development, this Director will lead transactions end-to-end and shape the recommendations that determine whether a deal is right for GoDaddy — not simply execute against a thesis someone else has already set
- This is a critical role in crafting our future growth through investments and acquisitions, bringing in new and innovative capabilities, strengthening existing ones, and expanding our footprint and market opportunities
- You will own the full arc of inorganic growth: sourcing and shaping the investment thesis, leading diligence and financial modeling, influencing senior executives on whether and how to proceed, and driving deals through negotiation, signing, and closing
- Lead the end-to-end M&A process — sourcing, evaluating, structuring, negotiating, and closing deals — as the accountable deal lead, not just a supporting contributor
- Shape and pressure-test the investment thesis behind potential transactions, including build-vs-buy, buy-vs-partner, and strategic adjacency analysis
- Present investment recommendations directly to senior executives, defend the underlying assumptions, and be willing to recommend against a transaction when the economics or strategic logic don’t hold up
- Drive cross-functional diligence across Finance, Legal, Tax, Strategy, Product, Partnerships, and business leadership — creating momentum and alignment without direct authority over those teams
- Own financial modeling, valuation, and business-case development, translating complex financial analysis into clear, defensible recommendations
- Build and maintain relationships with key industry players, investment banks, and advisors to develop a proprietary, forward-looking deal pipeline
- Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify strategic opportunities, capability gaps, and market entry options ahead of the competition
- Guide post-merger integration planning to ensure the value case underlying the deal is realized after close
- Develop and refine playbooks that raise the bar for repeatable process and best-in-class execution across the team
- Strong executive presence and cross-functional leadership — able to present recommendations to senior leadership, defend assumptions under scrutiny, manage disagreement, and drive alignment across Finance, Legal, Tax, Strategy, Product, and business teams without formal authority over them
- Advanced financial modeling and valuation skills, with the ability to simplify complex financial analysis for executive audiences
- A demonstrated track record of leading — not just supporting — M&A transactions, including shaping the investment thesis, managing the process end-to-end, and influencing senior executives on the ultimate recommendation
- 10+ years of experience spanning investment banking and corporate development, with investment banking experience required as part of your background
- Strong strategic judgment across build-vs-buy, buy-vs-partner, market entry, competitive implications, and integration and execution risk
- We encourage you to apply even if your experience or skillset doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement. We value a wide range of backgrounds and transferable skills, and we are excited to support learning and growth
- Internal corporate development leadership experience at a leading, high-growth technology, marketplace, or platform company
- Experience at a bulge-bracket, middle-market, or high-quality boutique investment bank prior to moving into corporate development
- A track record of transitioning from advising clients on transactions to being the corporate principal accountable for whether a deal creates long-term value
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field; MBA preferred
- Proficiency in AI tools, particularly as they relate to sourcing, diligence, or modeling in a corporate development context
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