Job Description

Visa’s Global Corporate Development team is responsible for helping shape Visa’s strategy by identifying industry trends, maintaining relationships with relevant external partners, as well as sourcing, negotiating, structuring, and executing strategic acquisitions/investments across all of Visa's geographies and businesses. As the payment landscape evolves, the Corporate Development organization partners with regional and business executives as well as corporate strategy to evaluate, analyze, and prioritize Visa’s M&A and larger strategic investments. Among others, notable acquisitions include: Earthport (extending reach of global payments), Verifi (improving dispute experience), Cardinal Commerce (security of online/mobile transactions), CyberSource (ecommerce gateway platform), Fraedom (SaaS expense management), and YellowPepper (multi-network connectivity), while notable strategic investments include BillDesk, Go-Jek, and Interswitch.

The VP, Corporate Development will lead activities including identifying, evaluating, and executing public and private company acquisitions, joint ventures, minority investments, and other strategic initiatives.  The stronger candidate will benefit from payments industry familiarity and proven strategic thinking. This role will require a balance of leadership and support for all aspects of the transaction evaluation and execution, from idea generation through valuation, due diligence, negotiations/transaction structuring, executive discussion, approval, and integration planning, as appropriate. A leading candidate will have led multiple acquisition transactions from identification through closing, and have a firm understanding of a deal process as well as typical points of friction in a transaction, and a demonstrated history of resolving them. S/he also must be skilled at leading cross-functional diligence teams through detailed processes without losing focus on what truly matters. S/he must be collaborative by nature and a strong leader – one who is continually refining and improving practices.  The successful candidate will become a trusted partner to Visa’s global business leaders. The position will be located in San Francisco or Foster City, California.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support Visa’s growth strategy through identification, assessment and execution of potential mergers, acquisitions, investments and joint ventures
• Actively investigate industry trends and specific opportunities for growth within Visa’s existing businesses and expansion into new areas; absorb information and form a persuasive point of view grounded in data, and articulate this view effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including executive management
• Partner with Senior Business Leaders on strategy development and realization, and identify corporate development opportunities in a progressive, systematic and routine fashion. Build relationships with each business unit to keep an ongoing flow of ideas that is aligned with their objectives
• Manage detailed global diligence processes, partnering closely with Visa colleagues and external advisors to understand complex businesses in a short period of time. Use seasoned judgment to prioritize efforts and escalate critical findings effectively
• Articulate clear rationales and risks associated with proposed transactions through spoken and written communications with deal sponsors, functional leadership, and senior executives, taking into account Visa’s overall interests
• Build and manage relationships on behalf of Visa with Investment Banking, Private Equity, and Venture Capital firms
• Contribute to all of Visa’s M&A activities, including the development of fellow team members, Corporate Development group practices, and company culture.  Develop working relationships grounded in trust, collaboration, respect, and open assistance with all teammates.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

12 years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 10 years of experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters/MBA/JD/MD) or at least 8 years of work experience with a PhD.

Preferred Qualifications

• 12-15 years of relevant work experience including multiple completed buy-side M&A transactions and/or equity investments, preferably with a corporate/strategic lens
• MBA or relevant graduate degree from top-tier institution or similar academic / professional experience
• Experience as a General Manager and/or Product Manager can be a plus
• Deep knowledge and understanding of payments, software, technology and/or financial service industries
• Experience working in a demanding environment with highly motivated and driven professionals
• Ability to handle projects with multiple workstreams, with proven leadership success over a wide variety of functional business problems
• Superior analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated intellectual and analytical rigor, including financial and valuation analyses
• Ability to structure and manage complex cross-enterprise projects and processes with multiple stakeholders at both senior and junior levels
• Excellent presentation skills and executive presence, including strong oral and writing capabilities; ability to clearly communicate compelling messages to senior managers and external business partners
• Strong leadership skills with a team-oriented and collaborative approach to work
• Enthusiastic work ethic, passion for learning, and acute professional curiosity; able to solve problems with balance of independence and well-solicited input
• Comfortable with a team-oriented and collaborative approach to achieving impact, balanced with strong independent thought leadership
• Direct experience in M&A identification, negotiation, and execution; experience identifying, assessing, and constructively addressing deal issues related to legal, regulatory, accounting, and tax
• Global or multi-national business experience on-the-ground preferred. 

Travel Requirements

This position requires the incumbent to travel for work 10% of the time.

Physical Requirements

This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers, and reach with hands and arms.

EEO Statement

Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.  Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.