Strategy 04 · M&A Advisory

Deal makers,
not pitchbook
factories.

We recruit Analysts through Associate Directors for boutique and mid-market M&A advisory firms. Sector-focused (industrials, TMT, healthcare, consumer, services) and generalist coverage. People who can run a process end-to-end, write the IM, and close — not produce decks for someone else to present.

M&A is where
real deal experience
compounds.

Boutique partner track, mid-market sector teams, or stepping out of a bulge-bracket coverage seat — we work with firms where you actually run processes, not produce decks. Up to Associate Director. No MD-level pitches we can't deliver on, no exploratory chats that go nowhere.

What "good" looks like

A deal maker
we'd send to a sponsor.

THE BAR

The M&A market is full of people with three years at a big bank and a CV full of "supported the team on…" bullets. We screen past that. Before we send anyone to your firm, they need to show they can actually run a deal.

  • Has run at least one process from CIM to signing — not just modelled a piece
  • Can talk through a deal from origination logic to closing dynamics
  • Modelling is genuinely strong — DCF, LBO, accretion/dilution, sum-of-parts
  • Has client exposure — not just internal-facing analyst work
  • Sector reasoning: knows their vertical's deal logic, not just their bank's pitchbook template
Recent placements

A selection of
M&A hires we've closed.

By the numbers

M&A in numbers.

30+
M&A hires closed
10
Advisory firms
93%
12-month retention
40
Days to first offer (avg)
How we work on M&A mandates

One owner.
Sector pattern matching.

M&A is a sector business, not a generalist business. We track who's doing what in industrials, TMT, healthcare, consumer and services across the Benelux and DACH — which means when you brief us on a senior associate for your industrials team, we already know the three people you should be talking to.

Typical timeline: 6–10 weeks from intake to signed offer. Faster for analyst/associate, longer for sector-specific senior hires.

Brief us

A live M&A
mandate?

Send a one-line brief. We'll come back within 24 hours with three questions — and within a week with a longlist.

What you can expect from us

A recruiter who
knows the sectors.

01 / HONEST READ

We know which firms are real.

Some boutiques look great on a website and grind their juniors into dust. We know which ones are which.

02 / ONE OWNER

One owner, intro to offer.

A dedicated owner runs your search from first call to signed offer. No handoffs.

03 / REAL MANDATES

Boutiques + mid-market firms we trust.

Every M&A firm we work with is one we'd send a friend to. If we wouldn't, we don't represent them.

04 / PROPER DEBRIEFS

Feedback within 48 hours. Always.

You hear back after every round, with a real read on how it went.

The process

How we'll work
together.

01

Intake call.

30 minutes. You walk us through the seat, the team, the comp band, and what "good" looks like. We push back on anything that doesn't add up.

02

Direct sourcing.

We hit the phones. No CV blasting. No LinkedIn InMail spam. We talk to passive candidates we already know and qualify them against your bar.

03

Shortlist within 3 weeks.

4–6 names. Each with a written rationale, comp expectations, and notice period. You decide who to meet.

04

Close.

We run the debrief, the comp negotiation, the notice conversation. We don't disappear after the offer is signed.