Business Development Director Private Equity

About the role

The Private Equity Business Development Director at Baker Tilly is a senior-level, strategic role focused on accelerating growth across the firm’s Tax, Assurance, and Consulting practices. This leader is directly responsible for identifying and developing new business opportunities within the Private Equity sector in an assigned geography, while developing, managing, and expanding client and prospect relationships.

Responsibilities

• Generate and manage a client-facing pipeline—lead, own, and participate in client pursuits, including client discovery, pursuit strategy, proposal development, and closing activities.
• Represent the firm and its full suite of Tax, Assurance, and Consulting services serving the Private Equity ecosystem, including fund/sponsors and portfolio companies.
• Develop and execute fund/sponsor coverage strategies (strategic account management at the fund/sponsor level) that strengthen relationships with prioritized private equity firms and identify new opportunities at the fund/sponsor across portfolio company investments.
• Co-develop a sales plan for the assigned territory and report weekly on progress against that plan to senior management.
• Demonstrate the ability to craft clear, concise, and compelling value propositions for services and solutions tailored to private equity firms, portfolio company executives, and other key stakeholders.
• Lead the deployment of sales techniques and strategies to integrate services and resources across all lines of service and geographies.
• Maintain deep knowledge of core service offerings and effectively position their application throughout the private equity investment lifecycle to influence decision-makers.
• Build, maintain, and expand relationships with new and existing clients through regular, open communication; ensure performance standards and client satisfaction are consistently met, and proactively communicate and troubleshoot issues as they arise.
• Lead strategic account management, planning, and support account ownership across priority sponsor relationships and portfolio companies to maximize new client acquisition, client penetration, and cross-service opportunities.
• Support the development and execution of industry-focused go-to-market strategies, integrated client solutions, and business development initiatives that enhance the Private Equity practice.
• Innovate and grow the Private Equity practice through rigorous and deliberate collaboration, teaming, thought leadership, and differentiated client solutions.
• Have conversational knowledge of other major service offerings outside of your team(s) that intersect with your target market(s), leveraging the Firm’s strategy of providing integrated, value-added solutions.
• Maintain strict compliance with CRM (Salesforce) requirements by consistently documenting opportunity notes and all related activities while maintaining an accurate, up-to-date pipeline of qualified opportunities in accordance with Firm protocols.
• Achiet closed business revenue goals associated with both new accounts and existing client accounts (as appropriate) to ensure a profitable return to the Firm each fiscal year.
• Perform regular, aggressive, and prompt follow-up on all Firm-generated leads assigned from campaigns or ad hoc requests from practice leadership.
• Maintain a clear understanding of who your team wishes to target for business development purposes—and why—while helping refine ideal client profiles, target sponsor lists, and strategic growth initiatives.
• Track and analyze private equity market trends, transaction activity, capital deployment, and portfolio company needs to identify potential business opportunities.
• Regularly inform practice leadership of changing market dynamics and other factors influencing accounts of strategic importance.
• Collaborate with other Firm Industry, Service, and Geography Business Development leaders and practice leaders to execute an integrated Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy.
• Perform account planning and key account research to optimize business development efforts and account penetration.
• Conduct primary outreach efforts, coordinating with marketing personnel on campaigns including prospect calls, emails, sponsorship activities, networking events, and other mechanisms to secure meetings with centers of influence and prospective clients.
• Coach, develop, and lead sales professionals and industry resources within the Private Equity practice while supporting business development professionals aligned by service line or geography.
• Demonstrate strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and thought leadership skills.
• Represent Baker Tilly at private equity conferences, industry events, and sponsor networking opportunities to strengthen market visibility and develop strategic relationships.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university required; graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience selling or delivering tax, assurance, and/or consulting services within Private Equity, Transaction Advisory, or Financial Services environments, required.
• Demonstrated understanding of private equity investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, transaction lifecycles, portfolio company operations, value creation initiatives, and exit strategies.
• Experience developing relationships with private equity funds/sponsors, operating partners, portfolio company executives, investment professionals/deal team(s), investment banks, lenders, and other transaction-related centers of influence preferred.
• Excellent sales skills and a proven track record of achieving KPIs.
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to build rapport with partners, senior management, private equity executives, portfolio company leadership, and stakeholders of varying levels.
• Driven and ambitious individual with a strong desire to succeed.
• Strong understanding of emerging technologies and digital solutions supporting business development, client service delivery, and operational transformation.
• Ability to work under a defined and planned directive with minimal direct day-to-day supervision for implementation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Eligibility to work in the U.S. without sponsorship required.
• Ability to travel up to 50% as needed.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university required; graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience selling or delivering tax, assurance, and/or consulting services within Private Equity, Transaction Advisory, or Financial Services environments, required.
• Demonstrated understanding of private equity investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, transaction lifecycles, portfolio company operations, value creation initiatives, and exit strategies.
• Experience developing relationships with private equity funds/sponsors, operating partners, portfolio company executives, investment professionals/deal team(s), investment banks, lenders, and other transaction-related centers of influence preferred.
• Excellent sales skills and a proven track record of achieving KPIs.
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to build rapport with partners, senior management, private equity executives, portfolio company leadership, and stakeholders of varying levels.
• Driven and ambitious individual with a strong desire to succeed.
• Strong understanding of emerging technologies and digital solutions supporting business development, client service delivery, and operational transformation.
• Ability to work under a defined and planned directive with minimal direct day-to-day supervision for implementation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Eligibility to work in the U.S. without sponsorship required.
• Ability to travel up to 50% as needed.

Skills

• Strong understanding of private equity investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, transaction lifecycles, portfolio company operations, value creation initiatives, and exit strategies.
• Excellent sales skills and a proven track record of achieving KPIs.
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to build rapport with partners, senior management, private equity executives, portfolio company leadership, and stakeholders of varying levels.
• Driven and ambitious individual with a strong desire to succeed.
• Strong understanding of emerging technologies and digital solutions supporting business development, client service delivery, and operational transformation.

Benefits

Baker Tilly offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package to eligible employees, including:

• Competitive salary range of $157,500 to $256,650.
• Performance and sales-based commissions.
• A comprehensive benefits package which may include:
• Health insurance
• Retirement plans
• Flexible work arrangements
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee assistance programs
• Wellness programs
• Flexible spending accounts
• Telecommuting options
• Parental leave
• Generous paid time off
• Professional liability insurance
• Discounts on professional development courses and seminars
• Access to a wide range of professional networks and community engagement opportunities

Pay

The pay rate range for this job position is $157,500 to $256,650.

Schedule

Actual compensation is influenced by a variety of relevant factors including but not limited to applicant’s skills, prior experience, qualifications, degrees, professional certifications, work arrangements and geographic location.