Introduction
Business development directors generate investment opportunities and ensure a steady flow of deals for private equity (PE) firms. This career requires a combination of business, sales, communication, and interpersonal skills, as well as comprehensive knowledge of private equity fund-raising. Business development directors may also be called deal generation professionals.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Good
Minimum Education Level
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Five to ten years of experience in lower-level business developme
Skills
Financial
Personality Traits
Enterprising
Earnings
New college graduates with a bachelor’s degree in finance earned average starting salaries of $58,472 in 2020, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Those with a master’s degree in business received $75,197. According to ZipRecruiter, business development professionals at private equity firms earned average annual salaries of $79,925 in June 2020. Salaries ranged from...
Work Environment
Business development directors work in well-lit, modern offices. They spend much of their day on the phone with investors or traveling to meet them at their offices or hosting them at social events. This work can be interesting because you constantly meet new people and rewarding when you are able to keep the deal pipeline flowing with new investments. On the other hand, it can be stressful and...
Outlook
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) does not provide an employment outlook for business development professionals, but it does report that job opportunities for the related occupations of securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents are expected to grow by 4 percent (as fast as the average) from 2018 to 2028.
“The demand for valuable business development professionals is l...
