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Corporate development director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

James Wilkerson Ph.D.,

James Wilkerson Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical corporate development director skills. We ranked the top skills for corporate development directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 17.8% of corporate development director resumes contained corporate development as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a corporate development director needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 corporate development director skills for your resume and career

1. Corporate Development

Corporate development is the planning and execution of strategies to meet objectives within an organization.

Here's how corporate development directors use corporate development:

Provide marketing consultation, corporate development strategies and franchise growth initiatives to service industry clientele with an emphasis on franchising.
Provided excellent communication skills for Corporate Development Center insuring quality Marketing and Development for Foundation.

2. Project Management

Here's how corporate development directors use project management:

Led monthly management meetings to develop and implement company policies and procedures through effective project management and strategic planning.
Project management inclusive of programming oversight, accounting software integration and validation, and reporting template creation.

3. Financial Models

Here's how corporate development directors use financial models:

Designed valuation analysis utilizing comparable company financial models, discounted cash flow analysis, due diligence, and negotiation participation.
Developed business plans and financial models for entry into new geographic markets and the introduction of new service offerings.

4. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how corporate development directors use business development:

Develop and implement business development and operational strategies geared towards creating a Domestic and International market in the affordable housing area.
Led customer facing activities including sales, marketing, account management and responsible for development and implementation of business development strategy.

5. HR

HR stands for human resources and is used to describe the set of people who work for a company or an organization. HR responsibilities revolve around updating employee records and carrying out management processes like planning, recruitment, evaluation, and selection processes. HR is a key contributor to any company or organization's growth as they are in charge of hiring the right employees, processing payrolls, conducting disciplinary actions, etc.

Here's how corporate development directors use hr:

Designed and implemented a Newly Appointed VP Orientation/Assimilation process; collaborated with HR Business Partners across business areas on content delivery.
Conducted comprehensive HR compliance audits with supporting materials.

6. Mergers

A merger is an agreement by two companies to combine and form a single entity voluntarily. The purpose of a merger is usually to increase the company's market share.

Here's how corporate development directors use mergers:

Provided mergers and acquisitions due diligence/modeling analysis/management/valuation support.
Facilitated mergers and acquisitions of independently owned businesses and their subsequent assimilation into the normal flow of company operations.

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7. Business Cases

Business cases are documents, verbal agreements, or presentations that explain the purpose of creating a task or project. The idea is to see that whenever any resource such as money or effort is spent, immense value or satisfaction is derived. A typical example is a software upgrade whose business case captures the results of streamlined performance, better value for money, improved customer experience, and time optimization among other benefits.

Here's how corporate development directors use business cases:

Developed business strategy, based on a rigorous business case, aligned executives, completed business diligence.
Presented business case for establishing an interface with a leading network provider in order to gain access to 2,000+ network members.

8. Financial Analysis

Here's how corporate development directors use financial analysis:

Provided financial analysis supporting various internal business groups including evaluation of new products and new business opportunities.
Maintained accounting records and performed financial analysis to improve efficiency and profitability.

9. Discounted Cash Flow

Discounted cash flow (DCF) is a form of analysis often used in real estate management and development, investment firms, and valuation of a company's finances or patents. This method attempts to predict the amount of funds one would receive after investing a certain amount of money into a project.

Here's how corporate development directors use discounted cash flow:

Utilize discounted cash flows analysis, comparable trading and transaction multiples, accretion/dilution and scenario/sensitivity analysis.
Developed models for conducting practice valuations for potential purchases using the discounted cash flow methodology.

10. Corporate Strategy

Here's how corporate development directors use corporate strategy:

Supported senior management team in corporate strategy development and special projects.
Compiled the monthly financial reports that are used by the private equity owner to establish the corporate strategy.

11. Due Diligence

Due diligence refers to the process of auditing, investigating, or reviewing done to confirm the authenticity of relevant facts. In addition to this, it also refers to the evaluation of a party's financial records to determine whether one should enter into a transaction with the said party or not.

Here's how corporate development directors use due diligence:

Participated in due diligence and transaction process leading to leveraged buyout by private equity consortium.
Planned and managed due diligence process across functional disciplines ensuring proper documentation of diligence findings.

12. Acquisition Targets

Here's how corporate development directors use acquisition targets:

Researched and identified acquisition targets that helped Sprint achieve strategic goals.
Reviewed and analyzed various restaurant concepts as potential acquisition targets.

13. Market Research

Market research is a collective effort to collect information related to a consumer's needs and wants. It is a systematic approach that involves recording and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Market research helps a business to identify a target market correctly and identify the gaps in potential consumer's expectations.

Here's how corporate development directors use market research:

Sponsored and specified primary market research to understand physician diagnostic buying decisions.
Market research data and financial modeling actively incorporated into management decisions.

14. Investment Bankers

Here's how corporate development directors use investment bankers:

Worked with investment bankers and inside deal team on M&A identification and deal flow.
Pursued and developed relationships with sellers, operating partners, investment bankers, third party serviceproviders and other potential transaction sources.

15. Strategic Direction

Here's how corporate development directors use strategic direction:

Provided strategic direction and oversaw enterprise-wide leadership development and education programs.
Engage and manage the strategic direction of the existing portfolio of Light The Night corporate partners.

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What skills help Corporate Development Directors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on corporate development director resumes?

James Wilkerson Ph.D.

Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program Coordinator, The Pennsylvania State University

Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.

What soft skills should all corporate development directors possess?

James Wilkerson Ph.D.

Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program Coordinator, The Pennsylvania State University

Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.

What hard/technical skills are most important for corporate development directors?

James Wilkerson Ph.D.

Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program Coordinator, The Pennsylvania State University

Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.

Do you want to know more?

List of corporate development director skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a corporate development director resume and required skills for a corporate development director to have include:

Corporate Development
Project Management
Financial Models
Business Development
HR
Mergers
Business Cases
Financial Analysis
Discounted Cash Flow
Corporate Strategy
Due Diligence
Acquisition Targets
Market Research
Investment Bankers
Strategic Direction

R
Executive Management
Business Plan
Strategy Development
Strategic Partnerships
Development Finance
Cash Flow
Strategic Plan
Equity Investments
Product Development
Joint Venture
Competitive Intelligence
FinTech
Market Analysis
Training Programs

Competitive Analysis
Strategic Alliances
Financial Performance
KPIs
Competitor Analysis
Business Operations
Business Lines
Contract Negotiations
LLC
Direct Reports
ROI
C-Level
Account Management
DCF
Press Releases

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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