Chief Strategy Officer, Head of Corporate Development, Head of M&A — the leaders boards rely on when the next chapter of the business has to be shaped. We work with the businesses that take strategy seriously enough to put a senior leader on it.
The Chief Strategy Officer role has emerged as a distinct senior seat in the last decade. In some businesses it sits alongside the CEO as a peer; in others it is a CEO-track appointment; in larger groups it heads a function that includes corporate development, M&A, ventures and integration. The brief shapes the search.
Corporate development as its own discipline has matured significantly in India. PE-backed businesses, listed conglomerates pursuing inorganic growth, and founder-led groups professionalising their capital allocation now treat corp dev as a senior, standalone function. The strongest leaders here come from a mix of strategy consulting, investment banking, and operating roles inside acquisitive businesses.
M&A leadership at the senior level is a smaller, more specific pool. The leaders who have actually closed and integrated multiple transactions — not just advised on them — are a narrower bet, and one we map carefully.
Strategy and corp dev work increasingly runs alongside the CEO conversation. Many of our most consequential mandates in this function are run in parallel with senior leadership appointments — because the next chapter of the business is being shaped at the same time as the team that will lead it.
Strategy as a function lives or dies on whether the CEO actually wants a peer in the role. The strongest CSO mandates are the ones where the CEO has decided that strategy needs a dedicated senior leader; the weakest are the ones where the function is set up to make the CEO feel they have one.
Corporate development has become its own career path in India. The strongest leaders come from a mix of strategy consulting, investment banking, and operating roles inside acquisitive businesses — and the candidates who have done all three are a small pool.
M&A integration is a distinct discipline within the broader function. Many businesses are good at closing deals; far fewer are good at integrating them. The leaders who have actually integrated multiple acquisitions, well, are a narrow bet, and one boards are increasingly willing to invest in directly.
The most senior seats in a business.
Open →From CFOs to audit committee chairs.
Open →The leaders who make the business work.
Open →The leaders who win the market.
Open →The leaders who build leadership capability.
Open →From CIO to CTO to Chief Data Officer.
Open →From General Counsel to board-level legal seats.
Open →Reputation, public affairs and the voice of the business.
Open →Every enquiry is handled in confidence. Tell us about the role, and we will tell you honestly whether it is one we can do justice to.
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