Company Description
It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today — ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.
The GVP, Head of Corporate Business Development, is accountable for the company’s end-to-end inorganic growth agenda, including M&A and strategic investments/ventures. This leader translates corporate strategy and product priorities into a disciplined portfolio of build/buy decisions and executes transactions that strengthen competitive position, accelerate platform capability, and expand ecosystem reach. Operating at board and executive level, the role combines hands-on deal leadership with governance rigor, ensuring post-close value realization against defined investment theses.
The role chairs the Board-level M&A Working Group, providing regular portfolio, pipeline, and transaction updates; ensuring decision readiness; and aligning management and the Board on priorities, risks, and value-capture expectations
Job Description
Key Responsibilities
Inorganic Growth Strategy & Portfolio Governance
- Own a multi-year inorganic growth roadmap aligned to corporate strategy and product vision, including clear prioritization across capability gaps and adjacencies.
- Lead the Build vs. Buy decision framework and decision cadence; drive executive alignment on portfolio trade-offs, sequencing, and resource allocation.
- Maintain a portfolio-level view across all M&A and strategic investment activity, balancing near-term impact with longer-horizon platform bets.
- Prepare and present investment theses, strategic rationale, and recommendations to executive leadership and the Board with clarity, rigor, and strong governance discipline.
Mergers & Acquisitions (End-to-End)
- Lead the full M&A lifecycle: origination, strategic screening, valuation and modeling, diligence orchestration, negotiation, signing/closing, and key post-close decisions.
- Build and sustain an active pipeline through proactive market mapping, ecosystem outreach, and trusted banker/advisor relationships.
- Partner closely with Finance, Legal, Tax, Global People, Product & Engineering, and Security to structure and execute transactions with disciplined risk management and commercial outcomes.
- Drive integration planning (in partnership with integration leaders) to ensure value capture, accountability, and measurable outcomes against the acquisition thesis.
- Establish and continuously improve M&A standards, playbooks, stage gates, and approval frameworks appropriate to scale and complexity.
Corporate Venture & Strategic Investments
- Define the strategic investment thesis for venture/minority investments to extend platform capabilities, strengthen ecosystem leverage, and create future acquisition options.
- Source, evaluate, negotiate, and execute minority investments and co-investments aligned to technology and market roadmaps.
- Manage portfolio governance: board/observer roles, follow-on decisions, portfolio company engagement, and strategic value realization.
- Build durable relationships across the venture capital and startup ecosystem to ensure early visibility into disruptive technologies and emerging category leaders.
Business Model Innovation, Executive Advisory & Governance
- Serve as a primary advisor to the CEO, CFO, CSO, and Board on corporate development strategy, pipeline, and transaction decisioning.
- Champion business model and ecosystem innovation (e.g., platform extension, marketplace models, new monetization constructs) in partnership with Product and Finance, supported by disciplined business cases and pilots.
- Ensure strong governance across all inorganic activities: confidentiality, conflicts protocols, investment committee materials, and decision documentation.
People Leadership & Operating Model
- Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Corporate Business Development organization spanning M&A, strategic investments, and deal operations.
- Define the coverage model, roles, and capabilities (e.g., sourcing, diligence, modeling, negotiation, integration value tracking) and scale processes as the company grows.
- Set a high bar for talent, integrity, and execution; attract and retain diverse, top-tier talent from banking, investing, consulting, and operating backgrounds.
Success Measures (First 12–18 Months)
- Establish and operationalize a Board-ready inorganic growth roadmap and pipeline review cadence, including clear stage gates and decision criteria.
- Deliver a prioritized, thesis-led target universe and maintain an active pipeline aligned to top strategic capability gaps.
- Execute and close high-impact transactions (M&A and/or strategic investments) aligned to strategy, with clear integration plans and value-capture scorecards.
- Implement standardized deal governance, diligence playbooks, and post-close value tracking to improve speed, rigor, and predictability.
- Build and scale the Corporate Business Development team and operating model, including external advisor ecosystem and internal cross-functional rhythms.
Qualifications
- 20+ years of progressive experience in corporate development, investment banking, private equity, venture capital, and/or strategy consulting, including 8+ years in senior leadership roles with direct accountability for M&A and/or strategic investments in a technology environment.
Qualifications
For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $278,700 - $473,800, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.
Additional Information
Work Personas
We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.
Equal Opportunity Employer
ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.
Accommodations
We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@servicenow.comfor assistance.
Export Control Regulations
For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.
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