During the
Corporate Dealmaker Forum, on extreme dealmaking, the panelists discussed career moves from investment banking to corporate development.
The panelists included: Kenneth Kharbanda, SVP of mergers and acquisitions at AOL LLC; Joy Shih, director of Corporate Development and M&A with Motorola Inc.; and Philip Brandes, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP. Josh King, VP of business development and general counsel at Avvo Inc., who is also a frequent contributor to Corporate Dealmaker's quarterly features, moderated the panel.
King started off the session by remembering last years panel. "Last year, we talked about careers. Give me a perspective on the move from investment banking to corporate development?" he asked.
Shih recanted: "I was reluctant, thinking it would be too slow, but now I can't imagine banking. We don't use bankers. I am the internal banker, and I'm right in the middle of the deals, which is fun. It's not a logical transition; personalities don't necessarily translate well."
Kharbanda left behind banking a long time ago, but he remembers the transition and has hired junior bankers. "You have to understand what makes the company tick. You live with what you do; there's ownership. You have to manage the sales team, for example, and integrate everyone -- it requires a diplomacy that is tricky," he said. "I would look for those junior-level people to train to work for us. They have strengths we can use," he added.
- Baz Hiralal
Join Corporate Dealmaker's LinkedIn forum
Juergen Lasowski
And the winners are...
