About Us

Vannin Chief of Staff has been retained by BDT & MSD Partners, a distinguished merchant bank headquartered in Chicago, IL, to identify a Vice President, Business Development - Midwest Region.

BDT & MSD Partners is a merchant bank with an advisory and investment platform built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors. The firm is distinguished by its decades of experience advising at the intersection of founders, families, and businesses, as well as by its differentiated capital base and culture of aligned investing. Its funds are managed by its affiliated investment advisors, BDT Capital Partners and MSD Partners. For more information, visit www.bdtmsd.com.

Vice President, Business Development - Midwest Region

BDT & MSD Partners maintains a deep, long-standing presence and trusted relationships across the Midwest, anchored in Chicago. The firm is seeking a dynamic and highly collaborative Vice President, Business Development to strategically support and advance these relationship-building efforts across a broad regional footprint that includes some of the most significant family-owned and founder-led businesses in the country.

Reporting to the Co-Heads of the Midwest Region, this person partners closely with regional leadership and coverage professionals to shape relationship strategy, strengthen high-touch client engagement, and promote cross-firm collaboration. The role blends big-picture strategic thinking with hands-on execution in a long-term, relationship-oriented organization. It is designed for a commercially sharp, deeply collaborative operator who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution and is energized by working alongside world-class senior leaders to build something meaningful in one of the most distinctive platforms in finance.

This position offers an opportunity to help activate an established regional foundation by working across multiple senior relationship owners, helping unlock the full potential of BDT & MSD’s Midwest network. The VP will serve as the connective tissue across commercial and functional teams, contributing to regional engagement strategy ranging from one-on-one client meetings to curated small-group gatherings. Success in this role requires a strong commercial mindset, high emotional intelligence, exceptional judgment, and the ability to serve as a proxy for senior leaders with clients and internal stakeholders alike.

This is a full-time, exempt position based onsite in Chicago, IL, with periodic travel throughout the Midwest region.

Responsibilities

Regional Relationship Strategy & Partnership:

• Coordinate and drive the implementation of the Midwest regional commercial strategy in partnership with Regional Leadership.

• Partner with coverage professionals and regional leadership to optimize the firm’s integrated relationship coverage model, clarifying coverage, priorities, and next steps across shared clients and prospects.

• Develop a holistic understanding of the firm’s relationships in the region and identify opportunities for cross-platform collaboration and partnership.

• Strategize and support the execution of high-value engagement opportunities with the client base, coordinating between coverage professionals and strategies to deliver the full platform.

• Proactively identify challenges and opportunities, looking around corners to anticipate issues before they arise.

• Collaborate with peers in other regions to share best practices, connect insights, and enhance overall regional development.

Firm Operations:

• Support coverage professionals’ business development efforts across client management and internal operations to ensure seamless execution.

• In partnership with regional leadership, develop actionable relationship and business development plans with clear metrics and KPIs to evaluate success; utilize this work for regional and firm-level reporting.

• Partner with coverage professionals to support and drive achievement of KPIs.

• Manage the firm’s Midwest region CRM system in partnership with coverage professionals and Business Development, ensuring accurate relationship mapping, pipeline tracking, and reporting.

• Leverage the firm’s CRM system and tools to ensure continued follow-up and touchpoints with priority relationships.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Client Engagement:

• Serve as a central connector across the business, helping translate vision into coordinated action across commercial and functional teams.

• Build and sustain strong, trust-based relationships across commercial, operational, and functional teams; act as a unifying force that drives alignment and shared accountability across the region.

• Draft bespoke client communications that reflect the firm’s high-touch approach to relationship management, drawing on appropriate firm resources and expertise.

• Craft presentations and content for meetings with target companies, founders, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals that demonstrate an understanding of their unique needs and the firm’s history with them.

• Play a key role in communicating regional progress and status, and serving as the “connective tissue” across the firm (Merchant Bank, Credit, and Real Estate) with high emotional intelligence and a commitment to positive culture building.

• Coordinate with professionals across the firm to ensure regional clients benefit from the full suite of capabilities, bringing the right internal and external participants into conversations and events.

• Plan and prepare to maximize the effectiveness of Partners and coverage professionals visiting different Midwest geographies with key clients and stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications

• 7–9 years of experience, ideally in financial services or management consulting.

• 5+ years of project and change management expertise with at least 3+ years of client relationship management or leadership experience.

• Proven experience at a fast, high-growth organization in a strategic or business operations leadership role.

• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to simplify complex concepts for a wide range of audiences.

• Exceptional analytical capabilities paired with the strategic thinking required to break down complex problems into actionable frameworks.

• Appetite and aptitude to consistently up-level productivity by utilizing technology and improving processes.

• Discretion and maturity to handle sensitive company information while maintaining strict confidentiality.

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with strong attention to detail.

• Advanced proficiency in G Suite and Microsoft Office Suite.

• Comfort and curiosity with AI tools; experience using AI-powered platforms to enhance research, communications, or workflow efficiency is a plus.

Preferred Skills & Attributes

• Balance of creative thinking and strategic execution; comfortable working within established processes while bringing fresh perspectives to how the firm convenes and engages clients across the region.

• Intellectually curious with strong pattern recognition skills; thrives managing diverse content across multiple industries, clients, and priorities simultaneously.

• Demonstrates a “no job too small” mentality, willing to influence high-level strategy and roll up sleeves for tactical execution, including event logistics and materials preparation.

• High-utility team player excited to help further build a world-class Midwest regional presence for a distinguished platform.

• Proven ability to both develop strategy and act as a proxy on behalf of Partners and coverage professionals with other leadership team members and clients.

• Brings a listen-first framework and seeks to deeply understand objectives, with the judgment to know when to drive something independently and when to consult senior leaders.

• Embodies the firm’s guiding principles: client-first, confidentiality, integrity, excellence, teamwork, honesty, and passion; a personal desire to find solutions that help clients attain their objectives.

Compensation Range: $250,000–$400,000 USD total annual compensation (salary + bonus), commensurate with experience

What are the Benefits of Joining BDT & MSD Partners?

BDT & MSD Partners offers a competitive total compensation package including a performance-based bonus, comprehensive health and wellness benefits, and the opportunity to join a firm that invests meaningfully in career development. This is a rare opportunity to grow alongside an established and expanding regional practice within one of the most distinctive platforms in finance, one defined by its culture of aligned investing, deep client trust, and long-term orientation. The firm is committed to providing employees with the tools, resources, and mentorship needed to thrive in a high-performance, collaborative environment.

What to Expect from Our Selection Process:

We are seeking a trusted partner who can move seamlessly between strategy and execution, with the commercial instincts and relational intelligence to thrive in a world-class merchant banking environment. Our process is designed to assess the whole candidate and find a mutual match. The process includes:

1. Vannin Chief of Staff Predictive Index Assessment*

2. Vannin Chief of Staff Screening: 15-minute phone interview & 30-minute video interview

3. First Conversation: Firm Introduction with BDT & MSD Talent Partner

4. Second and Third Conversations: Meetings with Co-Heads of the Midwest Region

5. Take-Home Case Study

6. Case Study Presentation

7. In-Person Super Day: Chicago office with Partners, coverage professionals, and senior stakeholders

8. Final Conversations: CHRO and additional firm leaders as appropriate
   

BDT & MSD Partners is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace where our employees can thrive and be themselves! We welcome all persons into our community. We embrace the diversity of gender, gender identity or expression, race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, physical and mental disabilities, medical condition, genetic characteristic, sexual orientation, marital status, family care or medical leave status, military or veteran status, or perceived membership in any of these groups.

*Note: Vannin Chief of Staff partners with The Predictive Index to align work styles with the role. All applicants complete this quick, two-question, five-minute assessment—no right or wrong answers—and receive a profile readout.

--> Please take the assessment here as you complete your application. 

Our client is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace where our employees can thrive and be themselves! We welcome all persons into our community. We embrace the diversity of gender, gender identity or expression, race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, physical and mental disabilities, medical condition, genetic characteristic, sexual orientation, marital status, family care or medical leave status, military or veteran status, or perceived membership in any of these groups.