VC Director @ Visa in Foster City, CA

Visa’s Global Corporate Development and Mergers and Acquisitions team forms part of the Global function which is collectively 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 & M&A team works with regional and business executives as well as corporate strategy to evaluate, analyze, and prioritize Visa’s inorganic strategic ambitions. Corporate Development & M&A team is a key partner of the business executives and is central to shaping the M&A and Investment agenda for Visa. A few notable acquisitions include: Cardinal Commerce (security of online/mobile transactions), CyberSource (ecommerce gateway platform), Tink (open-banking platform), and Currency Cloud (foreign exchange solutions provider),

The Director, Corporate Development & M&A position will support in identifying, evaluating, and executing public and private company acquisitions, joint ventures, minority investments, and other strategic initiatives. A strong candidate will benefit from payments industry familiarity and proven strategic thinking. Candidates should have had experience working on multiple transactions – including all elements: target identification through to closing and have a firm understanding of a deal process as well as typical points of friction in a transaction. 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 be able to build quality internal and external relationships.

The position will be based in CA-San Francisco or Foster City or in New York, NY.

Responsibilities

• Support Visa’s growth strategy through identification, assessment and execution of potential mergers, acquisitions, investments and joint ventures
• Assist with the investigation of industry trends and specific opportunities for growth within Visa’s existing businesses and expansion into new areas, absorb information and help form a persuasive point of view grounded in data, and articulate this view effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including executive management
• Partner with Corporate Development & M&A Leaders as well as the Business on strategy development and realization, and identify corporate development opportunities in a progressive, systematic and routine fashion
• Support business unit coverage to keep an ongoing flow of ideas that is aligned with their objectives
• Assist with the tracking of pipeline, market outreach and deal flow for ongoing discussions with key business sponsors and stakeholders
• Manage detailed diligence processes, partnering closely with Visa colleagues and external advisors to understand complex businesses in a short period of time. Be able to prioritize efforts and escalate critical findings effectively
• Be able to identify clear rationales and risks associated with proposed transactions through spoken and written communications with key stakeholders, considering Visa’s overall interests
• Assist with Visa’s global industry engagement and deal/investment relationships with Investment Banking, PE, and VC firms. Serve as a Visa interface with partner companies and be a point of coordination for investment and other activities with these companies.
• Contribute to all of Visa’s M&A activities, including the development of fellow team members, Corporate Development and M&A practices, and company culture. Develop working relationships grounded in trust, collaboration, respect, and open assistance with all teammates
• Some travel is expected as part of the role

Flex Work Arrangement – Hybrid Position – This is a hybrid position. Hybrid employees can alternate time between both remote and office. Employees in hybrid roles are expected to work from the office two days a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a general guidepost of being in the office 50% of the time based on business needs.

Basic Qualifications

10 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 8 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters/ MBA/JD/MD) or at least 3 years of work experience with a PhD

Preferred Qualifications

12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 8-10 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 6+ years of work experience with a PhD

• Minimum 6 years of relevant work experience including multiple completed 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
• 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 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
• Strong communication skills and executive presence, including solid oral and writing capabilities, ability to engage clearly with senior managers and external business partners
• 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 independent thought leadership
• Direct experience in M&A identification 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 Visa has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and visitors. As a condition of employment, all employees based in the U.S. are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a reasonable accommodation is approved or as otherwise required by law.

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/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.

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.