Strategic Partnerships & Ventures Manager (Boston, MA)

Overview:

The Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Ventures is responsible for identifying, cultivating, and managing relationships with fintechs, venture capital firms, technology providers, startups, universities, accelerators, and other strategic partners that can help advance the bank's growth objectives. Working closely with Innovation, Strategy, and business leaders, this role converts external market insight and ecosystem relationships into actionable partnerships, investment opportunities, and growth initiatives that advance the bank’s strategic priorities.

The role serves as a connector between the bank and the external innovation ecosystem, helping translate market trends, new technologies, and partnership opportunities into actionable business outcomes.

Strategic Partnership Development

• Develop and maintain relationships with fintech companies, technology providers, venture capital firms, industry organizations, accelerators, and startup ecosystems.
• Identify and evaluate partnership opportunities that enhance client experiences, improve operational capabilities, or create new sources of revenue.
• Act as a primary liaison between external partners and internal stakeholders.
• Build and manage a pipeline of partnership, venture, and collaboration opportunities aligned with strategic priorities.

Venture & Ecosystem Engagement

• Monitor emerging fintech, banking, payments, AI, and technology trends to identify opportunities relevant to the bank.
• Build relationships within venture capital and startup communities to increase visibility into market innovation.
• Participate in industry events, conferences, and networking opportunities to expand the bank's innovation ecosystem.
• Support venture sourcing, due diligence, opportunity evaluation, and relationship management activities.

Business Development & Growth

• Collaborate with business leaders to identify customer needs, market opportunities, and strategic challenges that could be addressed through partnerships.
• Assist in developing business cases and strategic recommendations for new products, services, partnerships, and growth initiatives.
• Analyze industry trends, competitive activity, and market opportunities to inform decision-making.
• Support the development of partnership models that drive customer acquisition, market expansion, and non-interest income growth.

Partnership Execution

• Coordinate cross-functional teams including business lines, technology, risk, legal, compliance, finance, and operations to evaluate and implement new partnerships.
• Support partnership negotiations, onboarding, governance, and performance management processes.
• Track partnership outcomes against established success metrics and strategic objectives.
• Prepare reports and executive presentations regarding partnership activities, market trends, and opportunity pipelines.

Strategic Advisory Support

• Provide market intelligence and trend analysis to Innovation and executive leadership teams.
• Assist in the assessment of emerging technologies, industry disruption, and competitive threats.
• Contribute to innovation initiatives by identifying external capabilities and partnerships that accelerate strategic objectives.

Education & Experience Required:

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 10 years of experience in strategy, innovation, corporate development, business development, venture investing, consulting, financial services, technology, or related fields.
• Proven experience developing and managing strategic partnerships with external organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to identify growth opportunities and translate ideas into executable business strategies.
• Strong financial, analytical, and business case development capabilities.
• Experience influencing senior executives and leading enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Exceptional communication, relationship management, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to navigate complex organizations and drive alignment across diverse functions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience within banking, fintech, venture capital, technology, innovation, strategy, or corporate development functions.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies, digital banking, payments, AI, or financial services trends.
• MBA or other advanced business degrees.
• Existing networks across fintech, startup, venture capital, and technology ecosystems.
• Experience evaluating strategic growth opportunities and partnership business models.

Location

About Us

Great companies have an enduring sense of purpose. At M&T, our purpose is a simple one: make a difference in people’s lives and uplift the communities we serve. M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T’s affiliates offer advice, guidance, expertise and solutions across the entire financial spectrum, combining M&T Bank’s traditional banking services with the wealth management and institutional capabilities offered by Wilmington Trust. M&T Bank has a network of over 1,000 branches and 2,200 ATMs that span 12 states from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. For more than 165 years, M&T has strived to take an active role in our communities and build long-lasting relationships with our customers. We are a bank for communities—combining the capabilities of a large bank with the care of a locally focused institution.

As an employer of choice, we are proud to offer competitive benefits ranging from medical and retirement to forty hours of paid volunteer time, each year. Our core values – integrity, ownership, collaboration, curiosity, and candor – drive the work we do. We seek to further build upon our record of success by bringing in top talent and fresh skill sets while continuing to support the growth and development of all our team members. View M&T’s Human Capital Report to learn more.

Ready to join our team? Submit your application today!

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M&T Bank is unwavering when it comes to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, citizenship, pregnancy, veteran status, military status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local laws. M&T Bank Corporation has policies and procedures in place to promote a drug free workplace.