Director, Mergers & Acquisitions

General Mills Inc - Director, Mergers & Acquisitions

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Job Description:

OVERVIEW: Our Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Team is on a journey to build capabilities and bring in talent to reshape our portfolio for growth in service to enterprise strategic objectives. We will pursue all transaction types including acquisitions, divestitures, partnerships, joint ventures, and equity investments to accelerate our growth goals. Our work will facilitate capital deployment decisions and drive post-close value creation for shareholders. Reporting to the Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions, this role will be a key part of the M&A team with a focus on transaction execution and business development. The role has high external orientation and offers the opportunity for enterprise-level impact and exposure to different parts of the business through a variety of M&A execution experiences. The Director will lead many facets of the M&A process and interact with senior-level executives and advisors to develop recommendations. The ideal candidate will have deep transaction execution experience and have demonstrated ability to influence at the most senior levels of an organization.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Collaborate with Corporate Strategy and across business segments to help identify, engage, assess and prioritize M&A transactions that best align with enterprise strategy and growth objectives.
2. Develop a strong understanding of business segment needs to provide personalized assistance and exceptional service throughout the sale, acquisition and/or partnership process.
3. Be accountable for the development of operating financial models used to evaluate a target's financial projections and review comprehensive financial valuations involving discounted cash flow, internal rate of return, accretion/dilution, and comparable company/transaction analyses.
4. Lead due diligence and partner with business segments and cross-functional leaders to identify and assess risks and opportunities of the proposed transactions including operational, financial, and integration synergies/issues.
5. Develop the presentation materials supporting M&A and partnership strategy to the Board of Directors, senior leadership, and other internal stakeholders.
6. Participate in legal negotiations and lead business point resolution regarding transaction-related contracts with in-house and external counsel.
7. Participate in post-closing integration/dis-integration efforts between General Mills and the acquired or divested businesses.
8. Direct ad hoc analysis to support non-execution initiatives and special projects for the senior management team and Board of Directors.
9. Monitor M&A environment via relationships with investment banking and financial sponsor community and assess implications for General Mills.
10. Perform comprehensive post-transaction multi-year look back reviews for performance tracking so that lessons learned are captured and appropriately shared across the organization.
11. Develop talent within the team, including acquiring, engaging, and retaining talent to ensure a high-quality, effective team.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, or related field.
2. At least 10 years of relevant experience; ideally including employment in both a professional services firm, such as an investment bank or other transaction support firm, and a corporate environment.
3. Experience working in a large, complex, global organization, where working across boundaries and leading through influence are keys to success.
4. Experience managing teams and partnering with multiple business functions.
5. Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced environment and exercise strategic thinking aptitude.
6. Excellent communicator, both oral and written.
7. Highly analytical, logical, structured problem solver.
8. Thrive in a collaborative, dynamic work environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

1. MBA from a top-tier business school.
2. Experience in consumer foods industry ideal, but not mandatory.
3. Experience working across geographies and with a deal landscape in multiple markets.

Salary Range: The salary range for this position is $169700.00 - $254700.00 / Annually. At General Mills we strive for each employee's pay at any point in their career to reflect their experiences performance and skills for their current role. The salary range for this role represents the numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, educations, skills, work experience, certifications, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range. Beyond base salary, General Mills offers a competitive Total Rewards package focusing on your overall well-being. We are proud to offer a foundation of health benefits, retirement and financial wellbeing, time off programs, wellbeing support and perks. Benefits may vary by role, country, region, union status, and other employment status factors. You may also be eligible to participate in an annual incentive program. An incentive award, if any, depends on various factors, including, individual and organizational performance.

General Mills is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply to any General Mills employment opportunities.