Vice President, Corporate Strategy and M&A

Driscoll's; Watsonville (CA); On-site; USD 280,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Life insurance

401(k) with employer match

Job summary

Driscoll's is seeking a high-caliber Vice President, Corporate Strategy and M&A to join the leadership team in Watsonville, California. This role sits at the intersection of global corporate strategy and inorganic growth, leading end-to-end M&A execution and shaping long-term direction at the executive level.

The ideal candidate combines investment banking rigor with strategic problem-solving from management consulting, and has the credibility to operate at the highest levels of the company.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience
• 5+ years leading management-level team members
• Domestic and international travel up to 15%
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (MBA preferred)

Responsibilities

• Partner with CEO, CFO, and senior leadership to develop and evolve the company's long-term strategic agenda
• Own enterprise strategy and orchestration, influencing long-term value creation
• Lead strategic planning processes including annual strategy reviews and white space analysis
• Support business priorities with valued-added analysis and deep financial insights
• Provide decision support or lead the assessment of Business Development initiatives including potential mergers and acquisitions
• Translate high-level strategic priorities into actionable roadmaps with clear owners, milestones, and success metrics
• Own the full M&A lifecycle from identification through due diligence, valuation, and close
• Build and maintain an acquisition pipeline aligned to growth strategy
• Lead financial modeling, valuation analysis, and scenario planning
• Coordinate cross-functional due diligence teams across finance, legal, HR, operations, and commercial
• Post-close integration leadership to realize value
• Manage relationships with investment banks, advisors, and external partners

Skills

Strategic thinking

M&A experience

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

MBA

Job description

About The Opportunity

We are seeking a high-caliber and intellectually curious Vice President, Corporate Strategy and M&A to join our leadership team. This is a rare opportunity to sit at the intersection of global corporate strategy and inorganic growth, shaping the long-term direction of the company while leading end-to-end M&A execution. The ideal candidate brings the analytical rigor of investment banking and the strategic problem-solving orientation of management consulting, combined with the credibility and gravitas to operate at the executive level.

Location

US - Watsonville, California

Job Family

Finance

Time Type

Full time

Job Requisition ID

R0009161

Experience Years

10-15 Years of Experience

Employee Type

Regular

Remote Type

Onsite

About The Opportunity

We are seeking a high-caliber and intellectually curious Vice President, Corporate Strategy and M&A to join our leadership team. This is a rare opportunity to sit at the intersection of global corporate strategy and inorganic growth, shaping the long-term direction of the company while leading end-to-end M&A execution. The ideal candidate brings the analytical rigor of investment banking and the strategic problem-solving orientation of management consulting, combined with the credibility and gravitas to operate at the executive level.

Corporate Strategy supports Driscoll's long-term strategy development, strategic planning process, provides targeted support for strategic projects, and develops business intelligence capabilities. M&A will own the full lifecycle from opportunity identification and strategic fit assessment through to due-diligence, valuation, deal structuring, negotiation, close, and final integration.

Responsibilities

Corporate Strategy:

• Partner with CEO, CFO, and senior leadership to develop, pressure test, and evolve the company's long-term strategic agenda
• Own enterprise strategy and orchestration, influencing long-term value creation
• Lead strategic planning processes including annual strategy reviews and white space analysis
• Support business priorities with valued-added analysis and deep financial insights
• Provide decision support or lead the assessment of Business Development initiatives including potential mergers and acquisitions, global expansion opportunities and the evaluation of new technologies and programs
• Bring an outside-in perspective, continuously scanning the market, competitive dynamics, and industry trends to surface implications for the business
• Support Board and executive-level presentations on strategic direction and performance against strategic priorities
• Translate high-level strategic priorities into actionable roadmaps with clear owners, milestones, and success metrics

M&A:

• Own the full M&A lifecycle from opportunity identification and strategic fit assessment through due diligence, valuation analysis, deal structuring, negotiation, and close
• Build and maintain a robust acquisition pipeline aligned to the company's growth strategy and portfolio priorities
• Lead financial modeling, valuation analysis, and scenario planning in support of investment decisions
• Coordinate cross-functional due diligence teams across finance, legal, HR, operations, and commercial functions
• Partner with integration leads post-close to ensure successful post-merger integration, accountability, and value realization against the original investment thesis
• Manage relationships with investment banks, advisors, and external partners to ensure access to high-quality deal flow.

Leadership:

• Build and develop a lean, high-performing strategy and M&A team over time
• Influence without authority across a matrixed organization aligning stakeholders around shared priorities
• Communicate complex financial and strategic concepts clearly to executive team and Board
• Represent Driscoll's in an ethical and business-like professional manner in all interactions with growers, co-workers, suppliers, customers and the business community at large

Candidate Profile

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive experience
• 5+ years of leading management-level team members
• Management experience at a consumer goods company
• Values based management style that has mastered the art of active listening, high emotional intelligence, curiosity and the confidence to have a sense of humility
• An excellent academic foundation that includes a bachelor's degree in a relevant field
• Domestic and international travel required up to 15%

Preferred Qualifications & Leadership Competencies

• MBA strongly preferred
• Experience at a top-tier investment bank and global consulting firm / in-house corporate strategy
• Cultural Alignment: Maintaining passion, humility and professionalism in approach and interaction with colleagues and will have irreproachable ethical standards
• Strategic Mindset: Looks toward the future and designs a way to get there. Practice clear thinking and tolerate stress, delivering results while engaging others through effective internal and external relationships, active listening and learning by productive dialogue.
• Cultivates Innovation: Finds, champions, and implements innovations; large or small.
• Plans & Aligns: Establishes priorities and desired outcomes, and creates plans to achieve them.
• Drives Results: Pursues everything with energy, resourcefulness, and the need to achieve desired outcomes. Conversant with leading concepts and best practices in finance, with particular expertise in the area of decision support and analytics in a global setting. S/he will be someone who is personally motivated to be involved in the whole spectrum of finance issues at the strategic and operational level and with an ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing complex business concepts.
• Collaborates: Works with a variety of colleagues, inside and/or outside of Driscoll's, seeking win-wins solutions. Practice clear thinking and tolerate stress, delivering results while engaging others through effective internal and external relationships, active listening and learning by productive dialogue.
• Drives Engagement: Creates a motivating work environment and empowers others.
• Develops Talent: Actively seeks opportunities to develop one's self and others.
• Courage: Tackles difficult issues timely with optimism and transparency.
• A valid passport and the ability to travel internationally without restrictions.

Compensation & Benefits

The following information is provided in good faith as a general description of the salary range and benefits for the position posted. The actual compensation offered to the successful candidate is dependent upon experience, skills, education, work location, internal pay equity, and other objective job-related factors.

Salary Range estimated for the VP, Corporate Strategy and M&A: $280,000 to $350,000 USD.

Driscoll's is committed to a culture of care and offers an attractive benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, and disability coverage for positions working more than 30 hours per week. Other benefits include: 401(k) with employer match, profit-sharing participation, paid sick time, paid vacation, paid personal and family care leave, and a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP). More detailed information regarding the benefits package, will be shared during the application process.

About Driscolls

Driscoll's is the global market leader for fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. With more than 100 years of farming heritage and hundreds of independent growers around the world, Driscoll's is passionate about growing fresh, beautiful and delicious berries. Our values of humility, passion and trustworthiness have guided our mission to delight consumers around the world. Driscoll's exclusive patented berry varieties are developed through years of research using only natural breeding methods - meaning, no GMOs. From farm-to-table, we focus on delivering a high quality, premium berry experience with our many supply chain partners. Driscoll's is the trusted brand for Only the Finest Berries.

Driscoll's es el proveedor líder en la comercialización de Fresas, Frambuesas, Zarzamoras y Arándanos Azules en el mundo. Con más de 100 años de herencia en agricultura y cientos de productores independiente alrededor del mundo, Driscoll's es una compañía apasionada por cultivar Berries frescas, hermosas y deliciosas. Nuestros valores de humildad, pasión y confianza han guiado nuestra misión de deleitar a los consumidores en el mundo. Las variedades exclusivas de Driscoll's han sido desarrolladas a través de años de investigación usando sólo métodos de mejoramiento natural. De la granja a la mesa, nos enfocamos en ofrecer una experiencia de alta calidad con apoyo de nuestros socios de la cadena de suministro. Driscoll's es la marca de confianza de sólo las mejores Berries.