Corporate Strategy & M&A Associate – Consumer/Food Company

Title: Corporate Strategy & M&A Associate – Consumer/Food Company

Location: Parsippany, NJ

Start Date: Summer 2026

Company Overview:

Our client is a multi-billion-dollar food holding company with a diversified portfolio of over 50 brands and a broad geographic footprint. With revenues exceeding $500 million, the firm operates at a scale comparable to leading U.S. food manufacturers and is a significant player in the branded foods market. The company specializes in acquiring and investing in established food brands, leveraging a nimble, growth-oriented strategy to enhance performance and drive long-term value. Notable acquisitions include College Inn and Kitchen Basics, Crisco, Cream of Wheat, and New York Flatbreads.

Beyond its commercial success, the firm is deeply committed to social responsibility—donating food, providing financial support to communities, and actively working to minimize its environmental impact.

The Opportunity:

This is an ideal role for candidates interested in Consumer Corporate Development. The team is comprised of four professionals with investment banking backgrounds who have cultivated a supportive, collaborative culture alongside a genuinely balanced lifestyle. Importantly, this is not a “2-and-out” role, but rather a long-term opportunity with meaningful growth potential.

While 3 days in-office is policy, this team gathers 5 days in-office and seeks an Associate that values on-site training/mentoring. The hours are highly attractive and consistent year-round:

1. Monday–Thursday: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM
2. Friday: 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM

The company is based in brand-new offices in Parsippany, NJ, with convenient commute times:

1. ~40 minutes from Jersey City or Hoboken
2. ~30 minutes from Newark
3. ~10 minutes from Morristown
4. This is not a role for Manhattan based commuting and a car is required

Role Overview:

This position supports the Director of Corporate Strategy & Business Development, as well as the CFO and CEO, across a range of high-impact initiatives. Responsibilities include:

1. Financial planning and analysis (FP&A)
2. Corporate finance and capital raising
3. M&A execution and strategic evaluation
4. Investor relations activities

The role offers direct exposure to senior leadership and the opportunity to play a key role in shaping the company’s strategic growth initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Creating company cash flow and profitability financial models
2. Delivering growth scenarios, margins, working capital and capital structure options
3. Working with key management to create an internal financial budgeting plan
4. Building monthly, quarterly and annual budgets from scratch, and creating breakeven and returns analyses
5. Interacting with finance/ FP&A, sales team, marketing team and other operational teams to help develop budgeting analyses
6. Integrating information from various company businesses into a single roll-up analysis
7. Presenting financial planning and analysis results to senior management including the Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development, the CFO and the CEO
8. Assisting with reporting of SEC filings, including creating earnings releases, earnings presentations, earnings call scripts and any other required reporting activities of a publicly listed company
9. Developing all documentation, presentations, financial models, memos, etc. for any corporate finance (capital raising/M&A) activities of the company
10. Analyzing potential strategic acquisitions for the company, including performing valuation and accretion/dilution analyses
11. Creating ad hoc financial analyses to support the business
12. Marketing the Company to equity and debt investors

Qualification Profile:

1. 2-3 years of investment banking, corp dev, private equity, or accounting experience
2. Knowledge of the SEC requirements of a public company
3. Strong familiarity with capital markets and M&A processes
4. Must be adept in developing financial models and performing technical analyses
5. Must be proficient creating presentations from analyses that deliver a clear and concise messages and business cases
6. Excellent critical thinking, written and oral communication skills