David N. Bowman

Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Cadence M&A Advisors

David Bowman brings over 25 years of investment banking experience from a diverse range of industries including branded consumer products, manufacturing, distribution, transportation/logistics, healthcare, software, oil & gas, and business services.  

David fully understands that, while a successful transaction may start with achieving an above market purchase price for owners, it often quickly expands to encompass additional owner goals - such as maintaining legacy founder values, protecting the continued employment of key staff, and negotiating acceptable risk exposure for owners post close – among many other critical deal points.  David and his team specialize in navigating these complex objectives as well as in managing the intense psychological and emotional requirements of a transaction - all with an eye to increasing the value of the transaction and to greatly increasing the probability of a successful closing.

Prior to co-founding Cadence, David led large complex deals as a buyer on behalf of top publicly-traded companies like AIG and Wells Fargo.  This experience provided him with valuable insights into how these firms value a business as well as the likely thought processes of both senior management & staff.  David now skillfully utilizes these perspectives on behalf of his sell-side clients as he is negotiating against such buyers.

By 2005, Wells Fargo recognized a compelling need to differentiate itself from its large bank competitors by extending its existing top-tier M&A capabilities to its mainstream customers in the lower-Middle Market M&A deal space.  To accomplish this goal, Wells Fargo tasked David with the founding and initial leadership of this new division, aptly named the Business Advisory Services Group (BSAG).  David subsequently served as National Managing Director of this division over its 16-year existence, focusing exclusively on sell-side M&A deals from $20MM to $200MM in transaction size and successfully helping to set Wells Fargo apart from its competition.

In the Spring of 2021, Wells Fargo made a strategic decision to exit its Business Advisory Services Group along with the lower middle market M&A deal space.  In the face of strong ongoing demand for such continued services, David and his co-founding partner Brian Glass, transitioned select key staff and immediately reformed the group on the outside as Cadence M&A Advisors in July of 2021.

David brings a depth of educational background to his clients, including a Bachelor of Science in Intl. Finance as well as an MBA in Finance & Accounting from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in Upstate NY.