Director of Corporate Development

GoDaddy; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

GoDaddy seeks a Director of Corporate Development to lead the full M&A lifecycle from sourcing to closing, shaping the investment thesis and liaising with senior leadership. You will coordinate cross-functional diligence, build financial models, and defend strategic recommendations.

The role requires a track record of leading deals and applying strategic judgment on build-vs-buy, market entry, and integration risks, with 10+ years in relevant fields and an MBA preferred.

Qualifications

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• 10+ years of experience spanning investment banking and corporate development, including leading end-to-end M&A
• MBA preferred; strong academic background in business/finance/economics
• Proficiency with AI tools for sourcing, diligence, or modeling in corporate development

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end M&A process: sourcing, evaluating, structuring, negotiating, and closing deals
• Lead diligence, financial modeling, and business-case development
• Present investment recommendations to senior executives and defend assumptions
• Drive cross-functional diligence across Finance, Legal, Tax, Strategy, Product, Partnerships
• Post-merger integration planning to realize value
• Develop playbooks for repeatable, best-in-class execution

Skills

Executive leadership

M&A leadership

Financial modeling

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Finance/Economics

MBA preferred

Tools

AI tools

Valuation software

Job 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 themAdvanced financial modeling and valuation skills, with the ability to simplify complex financial analysis for executive audiencesA 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 recommendation10+ years of experience spanning investment banking and corporate development, with investment banking experience required as part of your backgroundStrong strategic judgment across build-vs-buy, buy-vs-partner, market entry, competitive implications, and integration and execution risk

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