WHY THIS ROLE — AND WHY YOU

You have spent your career building a deal sheet in pharma services M&A — CDMO, CRO, commercial services, tech-enabled services. You have a track record of either originating mandates or executing the kind of work that makes you visible to people who notice. You are at, or within sight of, Managing Director.

You also have an honest read on what the next chapter of your career should look like. Maybe the platform you are on has the brand but does not have the deal flow in your space. Maybe the deal flow is there but the seat does not give you the autonomy — or the economics — to actually build something of your own. Maybe the firm is great, but the path between you and the next title is crowded and slow.

Our Client is the answer to that conversation. A privately held, founder-led healthcare investment bank that has been one of the most active pharma services M&A advisory groups in the market over the past two years — closing deals through a slowdown when most groups went quiet. Deal flow is now outpacing capacity. They need a senior banker who can own a coverage area, originate mandates, mentor a rising VP, and help shape the firm’s pharma services practice for the next decade.

OUR CLIENT — A FIRM WORTH JOINING

This is not a generalist boutique that does the occasional healthcare deal. It is a pure-play healthcare and pharmaceutical investment bank with 25+ years exclusively in the sector and more than $20 billion in completed transactions across M&A, capital raises, and cross-border deals in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America.

What sets this firm apart in the market:

  • Pure-play healthcare focus. 25+ years working exclusively in healthcare and pharmaceutical investment banking. You will not be doing a rotation through random sectors. You will be deepening expertise in pharma services to include CROs, CDMOs, tech-enabled services, and commercial services – expertise that compounds and is genuinely differentiated in the market.
  • $20 billion+ in completed transactions. A proven, prolific track record. The deal flow spans North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, and the firm has been notably busier than most middle-market peers through the recent biopharma slowdown.
  • Multi-business platform. More than a traditional advisory shop. The firm operates a family office arm with its own investing activities, a formal research practice publishing sector reports, a private equity coverage and origination function, and a European practice with a dedicated head. That range gives this seat optionality that a single-product boutique cannot offer.
  • Boutique scale, institutional heft. Roughly 35–40 professionals — small enough that you are visible and have impact, large enough that you are working on real, consequential transactions. You avoid the anonymity of a large bank and still get the deal sheet.
  • Geographic momentum. A London office is up and running, with a New York office on the horizon in the next year. For the right MD, that is the kind of platform expansion you want to be early to, not late to.

THE LEADERSHIP & CULTURE — COLLABORATIVE, NOT CUTTHROAT

You will report to the Senior Managing Director who runs the investment bank — a senior operator with deep transactional experience and a track record of putting talented producers in a position to win. This is a working partnership, not a layered chain of command. Decisions get made in the building. Compensation packages and decision protocols are now in place to support fast hiring and fast deal execution.

What that culture actually looks like:

  • Senior leaders who have been together 15+ years. A leadership group that knows how to operate together and is explicit about putting senior attention on every engagement. For an MD, that means decisions get made the right way, fast — not stuck in committee.
  • Mentorship is the norm, not the exception. Junior bankers are in the room with decision-makers. As an MD here, you will be developing a rising VP and shaping the next layer of talent — not babysitting and not building from scratch. The bench is real.
  • “Sink or swim” has no place here. The firm has built a culture around mutual respect, formal team-integration programs for new hires, and the explicit belief that the firm’s success rises with individual success rather than at its expense. A meaningful signal in an industry where competitive can quickly tip over into corrosive.
  • Recognized externally. Multiple “Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” awards in 2024 and 2025, plus regional Best Places to Work recognition. Third-party validation that the culture story is not just the marketing copy.
  • Entrepreneurial, founder-led, hungry. The leadership team thinks like owners because they are owners. If you have ever wanted to operate inside a firm where smart, fast decisions are rewarded — this is one.

THE ECONOMICS — STRUCTURED FOR PRODUCERS

Compensation here is built for a producer who wants the upside that comes with running a real book. The reality of the firm is that the platform is competitive with much larger banks on the work itself, and on the economics for someone who hits.

  • Base salary in the $300,000 range, calibrated to depth and trajectory at hire.
  • Production-based incentive economics with real upside. The majority of total compensation is tied to what you produce. A strong producer here can out-earn what they would make on a guaranteed package at a larger platform.
  • Equity in your career, not just your paycheck. Industry coverage you own. Mandates you originate. Relationships that travel with you over time. The platform pays you to build a book, not to rent yours.
  • A growing platform under you. A rising VP on your team. A London office active. A New York office coming. The infrastructure investments are happening now and you get to influence how they take shape.
  • Healthcare, dental, vision, retirement, PTO. Standard institutional benefits. A dedicated HR function. A formal onboarding program for senior hires.
  • The “unofficial” benefits. Decisions made in days, not weeks. A founder-led firm with a name in the market. A research practice and family office under the same roof, expanding the surface area of what “your career here” can become over time.

THE ROLE YOU WILL PLAY — OWN A COVERAGE AREA, BUILD A FRANCHISE

This is the third U.S. team in the investment bank — a strategic hire, not a backfill. You will own pharma services as a coverage area, working alongside an existing rising VP, and you will be measured on the things real bankers are measured on: mandates won, deals closed, talent developed, relationships built.

What you will get to do day to day:

  • Own industry coverage. Pharma services M&A across CDMO, CRO, commercial services, and tech-enabled services. PE-backed and founder-owned sell-side mandates. Deal sizes typically $100M to $1B, with some larger and some smaller.
  • Originate, don’t just execute. Pitch new business. Build relationships with PE sponsors and founder/CEO clients. Translate sector knowledge into mandates. The firm needs a hunter, not just a cook.
  • Run real transactions. Oversee execution end to end. Own the client relationship through close. Bring senior judgment to the table when the deal needs it.
  • Develop the next layer of talent. Mentor and stretch the rising VP on your coverage area. Set the standard for the analysts and associates coming up behind you. The firm wants you to be the kind of senior banker that junior people choose to work for.
  • Shape the practice long-term. Help define how the firm builds its pharma services franchise over the next 5–10 years. The seat carries influence well beyond the individual deal sheet.
  • Leverage the broader platform. Engage with the family office team, the research function, and the European practice as it makes sense for your clients and your deals. Use the surface area.

What we are looking for in your background:

  • 8+ years in investment banking, with a clear trajectory toward Managing Director or a recent promotion to that title.
  • Sell-side Pharma Services M&A depth. Real, recent deal experience in CDMO, CRO, commercial services, or tech-enabled services. Strong deal sheet you can speak to in detail.
  • A hunter mindset. A track record of originating mandates, not only executing what others bring in. Comfort with PE-backed and founder-owned clients.
  • Cultural fit. Entrepreneurial, hungry, willing to build a business — not just hold a title. Drawn to platforms where the upside is real and the path to it is short.
  • A genuine mentor. Real evidence of developing junior bankers into stronger ones. Specific stories with names and outcomes, not generic answers.
  • Excellent communicator — verbal, written, and in front of clients.

LOCATION & WORK MODEL — YOU PICK THE MARKET

This role is geographically flexible. You do not need to relocate. The firm’s preference is for a candidate based in a major U.S. financial market, with Chicago and New York at the top of the list.

How geography works in this seat:

  • Stay where you are. Chicago, New York, or another major U.S. market. The firm wants you close to clients and deal flow — not relocated for the sake of being relocated.
  • A New York office on the horizon. The firm is planning a New York office in the coming year. For NYC-based candidates, this is a near-term operational anchor; for Chicago-based candidates, it is meaningful platform expansion under your seat.
  • Travel commensurate with senior banking. Client meetings, pitches, and selective in-person collaboration with the broader U.S. and London teams. Standard for the level.
  • Senior-level autonomy. You are an MD. You will be treated like one.

WHY THIS ROLE — WHY NOW

  • The deal flow is real and the timing is right. The pharma services M&A market has been slow for two years across the industry; it is starting to come back. Our Client has been busier than most through the slowdown — you would be stepping onto a platform that is already moving.
  • A coverage area you can own. Not joining someone else’s team to be the third senior name on a pitch. Owning pharma services M&A as a franchise.
  • An economics structure built for producers. Production-based comp with real upside. The kind of seat where a strong year reads on the W-2.
  • A culture you would actually choose. Collaborative, founder-led, mentorship-real, externally validated as a Best Place to Work — not the typical sink-or-swim banking environment.
  • A platform that keeps expanding. London active. New York coming. Family office and research alongside the bank. The seat compounds in value as the platform grows.
  • You don’t have to move. Stay in your major market and your network. Build a franchise. Run a book.

INTERESTED? LET’S TALK.

This search is being conducted by Reveal Talent on a fully confidential basis on behalf of Our Client. If even part of the picture above maps to where you are and where you want your career to go, the conversation is worth having. We are not asking you to be looking for a job. We are asking if you would be open to a 20-minute confidential conversation about what is happening in pharma services M&A and where you fit.

All inquiries strictly confidential. Client identity shared on qualified, mutual-interest basis.

Susan Lindsay

Senior Consultant, Reveal Talent

[email protected]  |  704-741-9539