The Alliance of M&A Advisors is proud to recognize John Cohan as the 2026 AM&AA Member of the Year, honoring his commitment to excellence, open collaboration, and leadership within the M&A community.
Created in 2023, the AM&AA Member of the Year Award celebrates the members who help define the organization’s unique and enduring culture. Each year, active AM&AA members recognize peers who embody the values that make the organization such a strong professional community: a spirit of open sharing, a commitment to advancing the profession, and excellence in dealmaking.
This year’s honoree, John Cohan, exemplifies the qualities the award was designed to recognize.
John serves as Head of Gesmer Updegrove’s Corporate Department, where his practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity financings, bank financings, private placements of equity and debt securities, intellectual property licensing, software licensing, and technology law. His work spans complex multi-million-dollar acquisitions and financing transactions, as well as advising early-stage and emerging companies, technology entrepreneurs, and growth-minded businesses on contracting, licensing, business planning, intellectual property strategy, and general corporate compliance.
John’s career reflects a rare combination of legal precision, business judgment, and technical fluency. Prior to joining Gesmer, he served in-house as General Counsel for a life sciences company, where he was an active member of the executive management team. That experience gives him a unique perspective as an advisor, allowing him to align legal strategy with business objectives and help clients maximize value at every stage of growth and transaction activity.
In addition to his client work, John is dedicated to developing the next generation of legal and transactional professionals. He serves as an adjunct instructor at Boston University School of Law, where he teaches upper-level transactional contract drafting. His background also includes experience in the high-technology industry as a development engineer and in technical sales and marketing, further strengthening his ability to advise companies operating at the intersection of innovation, growth, and investment.
As AM&AA’s 2026 Member of the Year, John represents the very best of the organization’s member community: experienced, collaborative, generous with knowledge, and deeply committed to excellence in the M&A profession. AM&AA congratulates John Cohan on this well-deserved recognition and thanks him for his continued contributions to the organization and the broader dealmaking community!
