Head of Corporate Development

Responsibilities

• M&A & Investment Strategy. Build and own a proactive pipeline of acquisition and investment opportunities aligned to Plaid's strategic priorities. Maintain an up-to-date view of the competitive and startup landscape to identify targets before they're formally for sale.
• Outbound Relationship Building. Build and nurture a network of founders, executives, and investors across fintech and adjacent markets to source proprietary deal flow.
• Market & Competitive Intelligence. Develop well-researched and insightful points of view on adjacent categories and key competitors, and use that intelligence to help inform Plaid's strategic direction and investment priorities.
• Deal Execution & Diligence. Lead end-to-end deal execution: valuation, financial modeling, diligence coordination, negotiation, and structuring, partnering with key cross-functional throughout.
• Post-Deal Integration & Accountability. Partner with Finance, Legal, People and business leaders to successfully integrate closed acquisitions. Set a clear integration plan with milestones and performance metrics, track integration milestones and backtest outcomes against the original investment thesis.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration. Engage Product, Engineering, and GTM to qualify opportunities and sharpen Plaid's areas of strategic interest.
• Executive & Board Communication. Prepare board- and executive-ready materials on market landscape, deal pipeline, deal evaluation and due diligence findings, integration plan and post-close performance.

Qualifications

• Experience. 12+ years of experience across Investment Banking, Private Equity, Corporate Development or Management Consulting (with a focus on PE due diligence work).
• Deal Execution. Deep, hands-on experience evaluating and executing deals end-to-end, including sourcing, valuation, financial modeling, diligence, negotiation, and closing.
• Track Record. A track record of managing multiple complex deals simultaneously, from inception through post-close integration.
• Judgment. Strong analytical rigor paired with sound business judgment, knowing when to dig deeper and when to move forward with a decision.
• Builder Mindset. Comfort building frameworks and processes, turning ambiguity into repeatable motions.
• Communication. Executive presence and excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders and Board-level audiences.
• Industry experience. Prior experience in Technology is a must-have. Experience partnering with Product and Engineering leaders is a plus; fintech or financial services experience is a plus.