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Devanshi Pathak
Corporate Development · M&A · CEO's Office

Devanshi Pathak

10+ years in Corporate Development, M&A & CEO's Office · Berlin

From organic and inorganic growth strategy development to execution, for outcomes.

How I can help Read my field notes
50+
Deals evaluated in preliminary diligence
~10
Deals executed end-to-end
<10 to 300+
Employees, company sizes covered
EU · USA · India
Geographies worked across
2
KPI-to-QBR operating rhythms built and run
2
M&A integration handbooks authored
2
CEO's office strategy mandates led
How I Can Help

M&A depth. Organic to inorganic strategy range. In-house to consulting.

Key ways I plug into a corporate development, strategy or CEO's office function, grouped by specialisation. Experience spanning publicly listed companies to scale-ups and start-ups, across Europe, the US and India, on deals from under 10 to 300+ employee companies.

M&A, JV & Partnership Execution

  1. Deal, JV & partnership sourcingIdentifying, evaluating and prioritizing acquisition, joint venture and partnership opportunities.
  2. Build vs. buy vs. partner decision supportStructured frameworks for choosing the right path to a capability: build, acquire, or partner.
  3. Cross-functional due diligence leadershipCoordinating finance, legal, product and HR, plus external advisors, end to end.
  4. Business case & financial model developmentDCF, trading and transaction comparables, board-ready investment cases.
  5. In-house transaction managementRunning the process from term sheet to signing, for M&A, joint ventures and partnerships alike.
  6. Post-merger integration managementMilestone tracking, synergy realization and first-100-days planning.

Strategy Execution & Operating Rhythm

  1. Competitive intelligence & market researchTurning market signals into specific, actionable strategic recommendations.
  2. Organic vs. inorganic growth strategyTranslating initiatives, whether grown in-house or through M&A and partnerships, into quarterly delivery.
  3. KPI-to-OKR-to-QBR process designBuilding the operating cadence that keeps execution visible and on track.
  4. Cross-functional stakeholder managementAligning teams and leadership around a single execution plan.
  5. Ad-hoc CEO's office projectsChief-of-Staff-style initiatives that free up C-suite time, such as making operations more efficient.

Startup Advisory & Mentoring

  1. Fundraising supportPitch deck development, investor narrative and capital-raise readiness for founders.
  2. Strategy & skills trainingTeaching strategy, OKR management, M&A fundamentals, and hard and soft skills to working professionals.
  3. Early-career mentoringMentoring young professionals as they build their careers.
  4. Strategy & M&A pro-bono consultingVolunteering my strategy and M&A expertise to advise diverse founders.
Field Notes

Notes from 10+ years of deals and operating rhythm

Working checklists, not theory, condensed from real integrations, structurings and operating cadences.

01 — FRAMEWORK

Build, Buy, or Partner: A Framework for the Capability Decision Nobody Wants to Rush

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02 — DEAL STRUCTURE

Deal Structure Isn't Boilerplate

APA vs. SPA, and asset-heavy vs. asset-light valuation, aren't legal formalities. They're where the real risk gets allocated.

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03 — INTEGRATION

Where Deal Value Is Won or Lost

Four integration risks that quietly decide whether an acquisition earns its price, with the mitigants and KPIs I use.

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04 — OPERATING RHYTHM

Engineering the C-Suite's Operating Rhythm

Four parallel rhythms, one converging decision log — the Chief of Staff playbook for predictable execution.

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05 — STRATEGY EXECUTION

From SWOT to Growth Bets: A Repeatable Way to Decide

A SWOT isn't the problem, what happens after it is. Two frameworks for turning scattered analysis into a short list, and the short list into one funded bet.

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06 — M&A DILIGENCE

Quality of Earnings: From Diligence Finding to Final Price

What a QoE report actually tests, and how the EBITDA bridge, working capital peg, and debt-like items turn a headline multiple into the number a seller actually receives.

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Skillset & Experience

10+ years across Corporate Development, M&A and the CEO's office

Fast-scaling global technology firms, from first-position MBA to Senior Manager. 50+ deals evaluated and ~10 executed end-to-end, across companies from under 10 to 300+ employees, spanning Europe, the US and India. Along the way: 2 M&A integration handbooks authored, 2 CEO's office strategy mandates led, and 2 KPI-to-QBR operating rhythms built and run.

Deal pipeline management Deal, JV & partnership sourcing Cross-functional due diligence Business case development Financial modelling & valuation M&A transaction management Post-merger integration CEO's office initiatives execution Market & competitive intelligence KPI / OKR / QBR design Investment banking & advisor relationships Stakeholder management Board & C-suite communication EU · USA · India <10 to 300+ employee companies
Hoyer2026
Senior Manager, M&A Projects
Built a project rating tool used across several cross-border deals, developed M&A process and owned build-vs-buy business cases for the executive board.
Aiven2022 – 2025
Sr. Manager, Corp Dev & Strategy, CEO's Office
Closed 2 acquisitions and 2 partnerships from 30+ and 5+ evaluated, authored the M&A integration handbook, and built metric rhythms and market intelligence dashboards leveraging AI.
ACS Solutions2020 – 2022
Sr. Manager, CEO's Office & Corporate Strategy
Built the company-wide KPI, business and financial reporting dashboards and rhythms, and led the M&A strategy, sourcing-to-integration framework, from scratch.
Genpact2018 – 2020
Sr. Manager, Corp Dev / M&A and Strategy
Supported 20+ international acquisition evaluations (3 executed), managed the process from sourcing to diligence with internal and external teams, and built valuation models and business cases with and without synergies.
HCL Technologies2015 – 2018
Sr. Executive, Corporate M&A & Strategic Initiatives
Supported 20+ international acquisitions (2 executed), leading valuation modelling, business cases and due diligence for executive review.
Education: MBA (Finance), Birla Institute of Management Technology — First Position for Finance, 8.51 CGPA. B.A. Honours, Business Economics, University of Delhi.  ·  Credentials: Partnering by Design (2024), M&A Integration Training (2023).
Get In Touch

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Working through a deal, a structuring question, or your own operating rhythm? I'd enjoy the conversation, connect with me on LinkedIn.

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