A Day in the Life of a Head of Business Development at Compass Diversified
A Managing Director/Head of Business Development at Compass Diversified spends "a lot of time going to conferences and trade shows" across consumer, industrial, and healthcare sectors to network and identify potential investments. This involves analyzing companies' financial information, tracking deals using CRM systems, and maintaining relationships with investment bankers to "keep[ ] a finger on the pulse" of market trends and investment opportunities.
Networking, Executive/Leadership, Deal Analysis, Financial Analysis, Travel
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Katharine (Katie) Melzer
Managing Director/Head of Business Development
Compass Diversified
University of Michigan
UCLA Anderson School of Management - MBA
Business Management & Admin
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Business Strategy
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Attends numerous conferences and trade shows to network and stay updated on industry trends in consumer, industrial, and healthcare sectors.
2. Analyzes businesses by reviewing financial information and market data to determine investment suitability and potential.
3. Maintains a robust CRM system to track deals, relationships, and market trends, ensuring the company stays ahead in investment opportunities and capital allocation.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a managing director and head of business development look like?
The day can change depending on what's going on from a project or deal perspective. I would say I spend a lot of my time going to conferences and trade shows.
My company focuses on consumer, industrial, and healthcare investing. One week, I might be at a healthcare conference, learning about the industry, meeting participants, and building relationships with investment bankers, management teams, and founders.
Another part of my day could be analyzing businesses. Once a company wants a private equity partner, they send us their materials on market size, financial metrics, and growth avenues. Part of my job is to screen companies that we like and think are good investments from those that may not be a good fit for our investment strategy.
This requires a lot of reading of marketing materials and financial information to identify if a business is a good fit for us to invest in. I am on the road a lot. If I'm not at trade shows, I'm probably going to be in different cities meeting with investment bankers.
This helps me stay informed about upcoming deals and the macro trends that other investors are considering. It ensures we know where we want to put our capital to work.
Another important thing I do regularly is keep track of all the deals. This could be in Salesforce or a different CRM system where I log relationships and deals we look at. This ensures we stay on top of things.
Ultimately, we want to find the right deals, analyze the right companies, and have the right relationships so that we can put capital to work every year.