Jonah Israel to continue learning journey at KPMG Deal Advisory

Joining KPMG Deal Advisory as an intern places Jonah Israel at the heart of one of Belgium’s premier transaction advisory practices.

As a leading partner in the Belgian corporate finance landscape, this arm of the Big Four firm guides corporate clients, financial sponsors, and private equity funds through every phase of the deal lifecycle – from strategic deal initiation and financial due diligence to valuation, capital structure optimisation and post-merger integration.

The practice is also renowned for its deep sector expertise, mid-market dominance, and cross-border capabilities. Working alongside seasoned corporate finance professionals, interns at KPMG Deal Advisory are integrated into active execution teams, gaining real-time exposure to market-moving transactions, pitch book preparation, complex financial analysis, and direct client interactions across various Belgian and international sectors.

“I’m really excited to get thrown into a more corporate environment with a different organisational structure,” he shares. “My main priority is to learn as much as possible and apply what I have learned in the meantime at my current internship.”

Jonah’s responsibilities as an intern (working on live M&A transactions) are another prime example of incoming financial talent taking an increasingly hands-on, multidisciplinary approach to mastering the deal lifecycle.

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He is especially looking forward to working with the “extremely competent” David Theys (KPMG Belgium’s head of M&A) and the rest of the team. “I’ve done my research and spoken to people on the team, and all have really nice experiences and backgrounds that add a lot of value,” he adds.

Fuel to keep growing as a dealmaker
The new intern doesn’t come unprepared, either, having spent the last year honing his M&A skills in various industry internships. Currently, Jonah is completing a two-month internship as a private equity investment analyst with Around Partners, where he is gaining practical experience in buy-and-build strategies.

His key takeaway so far is to analyse platforms from all perspectives: “Traditional or more typical types of analyses work, but looking at sectors and businesses from different angles allows me to uncover insights that I wouldn’t have been able to before.”

Jonah has also had the opportunity to work on a live deal, participate in market research projects and deep-dive into various case studies.

Prior to this, Jonah was working as a lead research intern on the Sales Development Research team at Soda. Here, he focused on acquiring quality leads and understanding the importance of clean, reliable information for decision-making.

“I’m grateful to the team for making me feel welcome from day one and for the chance to contribute to such an innovative company,” he reminisces. “Over the month, I gained valuable insights into different approaches that lead to successful deals. I’m thankful for these lessons that will serve as fuel to keep growing.”

An informed foundation for M&A
All these different perspectives on dealmaking are forming a valuable foundation for Jonah to build his M&A expertise. His ambition for the next five years is to gain as much knowledge as possible.

“My immediate goal is to land a first-year role outside of Belgium, because I've lived here my whole life and I need to see other places and go international,” he says. “My goal is to work for a fund, bank or company that gives me the opportunity to learn even more.”

Jonah uses David Theys – who has more than 25 years of experience and has worked for international banks worldwide – as an example. “That is exactly the career trajectory I’m after,” he elaborates.

“I want to grow and to flourish. The only way to do that is to be in an environment that pushes and helps you do so,” he adds. “That's also why M&A and investment banking interest me so much; you can learn so much in such a short period. I'm witnessing it right now at my current position; it's astonishing.”

Jonah’s advice to future interns hoping to follow in his footsteps: “It may sound cliché, but keep trying… It was extremely hard for me to land my first finance internship, but as soon as you land the first one, everything will go smoother.”

Jonah explains that rejection is part of the process. “You need to keep showing interest, stay disciplined, motivated, and positive. Keep your head up – don't give up,” he continues.

“The resilience you show and have is what differentiates you from the other candidates. It's a cutthroat sector, so you need to show you can handle it.”

His internship at Around Partners runs until the end of August; then Jonah will join Bluegrass Ventures for the first three weeks of September before officially starting at KPMG (until the end of December).