SVP – Corporate Development — Urban Infrastructure Platform

The mandate

A recent strategy review exposed a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution within a multinational-owned infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the urban infrastructure platform during a concession renewal cycle. For mandate 332, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The SVP – Corporate Development operating perimeter covers approximately C$20,650 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several urban infrastructure platform customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The SVP – Corporate Development Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,550 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a SVP – Corporate Development who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the urban infrastructure platform. The SVP – Corporate Development Infrastructure seat must resolve a concession renewal cycle, while preserving the underlying strengths of the urban infrastructure platform. For mandate 332, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The SVP – Corporate Development’s first year on the urban infrastructure platform is expected to end with proprietary pipeline, integration logic and value realisation. In mandate 332, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The SVP – Corporate Development — Urban Infrastructure Platform requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after a concession renewal cycle created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the urban infrastructure platform. Interim coverage protects essential decisions, but split ownership cannot continue through the next operating gate. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 4–6 weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Set the SVP – Corporate Development value-creation thesis for the urban infrastructure platform, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately C$20,650 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the SVP – Corporate Development Infrastructure organisation of about 1,550 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the urban infrastructure platform economics and execution constraints created by a concession renewal cycle, with SVP – Corporate Development-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one SVP – Corporate Development operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the urban infrastructure platform; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show end-to-end ownership of a material platform or value stream, including budget, talent and measurable operating outcomes in mandate 332.
• Build the SVP – Corporate Development’s three-year succession and capability plan for the urban infrastructure platform, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the urban infrastructure platform baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal SVP – Corporate Development portfolio and organisation choices for the urban infrastructure platform, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable urban infrastructure platform trend against proprietary pipeline, integration logic and value realisation, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the SVP – Corporate Development’s agreed first-year urban infrastructure platform value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A SVP – Corporate Development forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the urban infrastructure platform’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the SVP – Corporate Development mandate’s highest-priority urban infrastructure platform risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical urban infrastructure platform talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the SVP – Corporate Development’s direct reports.
• A quantified SVP – Corporate Development-owned improvement in the urban infrastructure platform operating constraint behind a concession renewal cycle, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 332: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a SVP Corporate Development, M&A Director or Strategy Executive in a multinational-owned Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the urban infrastructure platform, your SVP – Corporate Development track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this SVP – Corporate Development brief.

As a SVP – Corporate Development candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Infrastructure or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of C$12,000 million and led an organisation of at least 1,075 people.

For mandate 332, the board wants two transitions: a difficult urban infrastructure platform portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a concession renewal cycle. As the prospective SVP – Corporate Development for this urban infrastructure platform, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 332 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The SVP – Corporate Development must be based in Toronto; international relocation is supported, but this Infrastructure role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of SVP Corporate Development, M&A Director or Strategy Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven SVP – Corporate Development ownership of at least C$12,000 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,075 employees in a comparable urban infrastructure platform context.
• One completed Infrastructure or adjacent-sector example of a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks SVP – Corporate Development-level urban infrastructure platform consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Toronto location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 332.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated SVP – Corporate Development package is C$330,000–440,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final urban infrastructure platform scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 332 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The SVP – Corporate Development appointment in Toronto, centred on the urban infrastructure platform, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 332.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 332. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 332.