Head of Corporate Development

About Rate Gain

Rate Gain Travel Technologies is a global provider of AI-powered SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Working with 13,000+ customers and 700+ partners across 100+ countries, Rate Gain helps businesses accelerate revenue growth through improved acquisition, retention, and wallet-share expansion.

Today, Rate Gain is one of the world’s largest processors of electronic transactions, price points, and travel intent data. Its platforms empower revenue management, distribution, and marketing teams across hotels, airlines, online travel agencies, metasearch platforms, car rentals, travel management companies, cruises, and ferries to make smarter, faster commercial decisions.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in India, Rate Gain works with 33 of the Top 40 Hotel Chains, 4 of the Top 5 Airlines, 7 of the Top 10 Car Rental brands, and all leading OTAs and metasearch platforms, including 25 Global Fortune 500 companies, helping unlock new revenue opportunities every day.

The Mission

The Head of Corporate Development will own and scale Rate Gain’s end-to-end inorganic growth and capital strategy, ensuring the company consistently identifies, evaluates, and executes value-accretive M&A opportunities while maintaining strong governance, capital discipline, and public-market credibility.

This role exists to make Corporate Development a repeatable growth engine, enabling Rate Gain to stay ahead of market consolidation, technology shifts, and competitive moves.

Role Scope & Ownership

- Own Corporate Development end-to-end from market intelligence and deal origination to LOI, diligence, SPA signing, and closure
- Act as a strategic advisor to the CEO, CFO, and Board on acquisitions, fundraising, and corporate restructuring
- Ensure Rate Gain deploys capital with speed, confidence, and governance rigor appropriate for a listed company

Key Responsibilities

Market Intelligence & Deal Origination

- Maintain a continuous pulse on sector activity: who is acquiring whom, valuation benchmarks, deal structures, and strategic rationales
- Track non-public and off-market deal signals through proprietary networks
- Build and maintain a living database of target companies, including:
- Financial performance and growth metrics
- Cap tables and ownership structures
- Leadership movements and investor activity

Relationship & Network Leadership

- Build and leverage deep relationships with:
- Corporate Development leaders
- Founders and CXOs of target companies
- Investment bankers, PE/VCs, and advisors
- Establish Rate Gain as a credible, preferred acquirer in the ecosystem

Deal Leadership (Origination to LOI)

- Independently identify and evaluate acquisition opportunities
- Build investment theses, valuation models, and IC / Board materials
- Lead negotiations through term sheets and LOI execution, carrying maximum ownership

Diligence, Negotiation & Deal Closure

- Act as a core stakeholder from LOI to SPA signing
- Coordinate financial, legal, commercial, and technology diligence
- Drive negotiations, risk resolution, and value protection
- Ensure seamless deal closure with zero governance surprises

Fundraising & Corporate Structuring

- Actively contribute to equity and debt fundraising initiatives
- Support banker interactions, data rooms, and investor diligence
- Contribute to corporate restructuring, capital optimization, and balance-sheet efficiency

Functional KPIs

- Maintain a qualified and current M&A pipeline aligned to Rate Gain’s strategy
- Originate and evaluate multiple acquisition opportunities annually
- Lead deals independently from thesis to LOI
- Achieve efficient LOI-to-closure timelines without value erosion
- Maintain high-quality diligence and documentation standards suitable for a listed entity
- Deliver accurate, decision-ready materials to CEO, CFO, and Board

Strategic KPIs

- Execute value-accretive acquisitions aligned to revenue growth, margin expansion, and Rule of 40 objectives
- Strengthen Rate Gain’s competitive positioning through strategic adjacencies and capability expansion
- Improve speed and confidence of Board-level capital allocation decisions
- Support successful fundraising and capital-structure…