Petit began his career at Goldman Sachs and went on to specialize in external growth, mergers and acquisitions and strategy at General Electric, where he worked for 15 years. In 2012, he joined the executive committee of Smith & Nephew plc as chief corporate development officer, later adding the responsibilities of president for Global Business Services. There, he led the group’s transformation and helped to accelerate growth through a series of transactions worth more than $3 billion.