Head of Business Development & M&A

The organisation

For more than 150 years, the Swedish company Sandvik has been committed to developing the most advanced engineering solutions. Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions (SMR), part of the Sandvik Group, is global market leader for productivity-enhancing products and solutions for the mining and construction industries. It has a local presence in 160 countries, over EUR 4 billion annual revenue, and more than 14.000 employees. Innovation is one of SMR’s key values – a core focus is placed on digital transformations and adopting new technologies.

Parts and Services Division
The Parts and Services Division (P&S) supports customers from the installed base as well as other, broader industries with component parts and advanced solutions. P&S is the largest division within SMR with over EUR 1.0 billion annual revenue and more than 6,000 employees. This division has set up a strategy office with a focus on major strategic projects, M&A and a portfolio of fast-growing companies (Venture Business).

Strategy & Venture Business Teams
The Strategy & Venture Business Team of the Parts and Services Division is responsible for defining and executing the division strategy for both organic and inorganic growth. The Business Development and M&A component within the team currently consists of 2 people: Vice President Strategy & Venture Business, and a Strategy Associate. They both contribute extensively to the strategic agenda and are responsible for a number of global strategic projects – such as the creation of a B2B E-commerce platform and an equipment rental proposition.

The Strategy & Venture Business Team also has a strong focus on ventures and M&A. A portfolio of three ventures has recently been put together, with a total revenue of €60 million. One example of a portfolio asset is a company that builds a fire safety system for mining equipment. The team has a mandate to explore growth opportunities within a broad scope in terms of products and industries – including, among others, the software industry. 

Whether the focus is on organic or inorganic growth, the Strategy & Venture Business Team has a clear mandate to explore new options for Sandvik to further strengthen its core business – while also branching out into related fields. The company places high value on investing in success, ensuring a range of options for both interesting M&A and Strategy projects to be pursued.

The position

Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions (SMR) is global market leader for enhanced, productivity-enhancing products and solutions for the mining and construction industries. The Parts and Services Division (P&S) supports customers from the installed base as well as other, broader industries with component parts and advanced solutions. This division has set up a strategy office with a focus on major strategic projects, M&A and a portfolio of fast growing companies (Venture Businesses). The Head of Business Development & M&A will take on a leading role in this team, to drive the strategic agenda and be heavily involved in M&A.

Tasks & responsibilities

The Head of Business Development & M&A will play a key role in defining the strategy for inorganic growth and the corresponding M&A roadmap. She/he reports to the Vice President Strategy & Venture Business and will be both a thought leader and implementation leader on the topic of inorganic growth. The Head of Business Development & M&A will be instrumental in helping the MT better understand the potential of Business Ventures for the overall success of Sandvik. She/he will continuously champion the importance of M&A for the company strategy, while also championing the importance of strategy for acquired ventures.

The team is still in a relatively early stage – making this an exciting time for a Head of Business Development & M&A to join. The current phase is all about building the pipeline in a structured, methodical, and analytical way. The next step is drafting the M&A approach and designing the acquisition funnel according to a scalable, functioning and best-practice system, from due diligence to closing the deal. Ultimately, the team will also support the acquired ventures with their own strategy, and work on integration and new business development to ensure organic growth for the Business Ventures. In all this, the Head of Business Development & M&A is of course supported by the Strategy Associate. There is likely to be some room in the future for further expanding the team.

Candidate profile

The ideal candidate may be an experienced strategy, management consultant or investment banker with serious experience in at least one of the relevant fields. Ideally, this candidate has worked extensively on either the research or investment side of M&A projects, and is well-vested in (commercial) due diligence, valuation, negotiation or closely related topics. On top of that, the candidate also has had quite some exposure to strategy work – either as a strategy consultant, or as a banker or business consultant who has been involved with strategy projects.

In this role, the Head of Business Development & M&A will gain a deep understanding of how an industry player works, how its customers work, and how to drive culture (for instance when it comes to post-merger work). The Head of Business Development & M&A is not only a sharp analytical thinker with a knack for number crunching and value creation; she/he is also a true leader who can make the internal team as well as the Venture Businesses successful through strategic insight and coaching.

Requirements*

• Top tier strategy consultant at Engagement Manager / Project Leader or Junior Partner level
• Or senior Management Consultant or Banker with >7 years’ experience
• In-depth experience with either Strategy or M&A work, and affinity with & exposure to both
• Additional affinity or experience with business development is a plus

* Research shows that while male candidates feel confident enough to apply when they meet about 60% of the requirements, female candidates only apply when they tick every box. So if this role has your name on it, but you’re not sure about the criteria, we still want to hear from you.

Interested?

You can apply to this position by using the link below. Sandvik works with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.