Results
Who he’s worked with, and what changed
Clients talk about working with John.
Clients
UBS · Burger King · Wells Fargo · Morgan Stanley · Deutsche Bank · BlackRock · NBC · Amazon
One Rock Capital Partners · Forvis Mazars · A&O Shearman · Morvillo Abramowitz · Related Companies · CFA Institute · SHoP Architects · Wildlife Conservation Society · Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
Deals
M&A story advisory and presentation coaching
BlueTriton Brands and Primo Water
In preparation for the management presentation leading to the merger of BlueTriton Brands and Primo Water (combined net revenue of $6.5 billion), John coached the management team. The deal team included One Rock Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank.
The work consisted of crafting an introductory exploration of the value and purpose of the proposed merger, followed by examples and stories demonstrating strategic value beyond passive depictions of operational performance in charts. From there, each executive’s text was personalized to highlight expertise and ensure that every speaker sounded like themselves instead of someone reading a script.
“Working with John on our MP [management presentation, resulting in the $6.5 billion merger between Blue Triton Brands and Primo Water] helped sharpen and structure our story in a way that made it both more compelling and interesting. He helped us tell a better collective story but also coached us to deliver our individual stories in a much more authentic, down-to-earth way than we would have if we’d been left to our own devices. His tough love feedback landed well and steered us to a more successful presentation.”
Joey Bergstein, CEO, 1440 Foods, former CEO of Blue Triton Brands
Management presentation coaching
One Rock Capital Partners
John worked on site, rewriting in real time with the group and in short one to one sessions between meetings.
Part of the job is saying the things to a management team that the bankers can’t, or would rather not. The rest is the hours a deal team doesn’t spend arguing over wording.
“John took everyone’s concerns, the investment bankers’, the deal team’s, and the management team’s and synthesized them quickly so we could execute them. He helped with the wording and coached people with very distinct styles of presentation and merged them together to get the message across for a very successful sale.”
Jim Wiegmann, Operating Partner at One Rock Capital Partners, former CEO of OLM Food Solutions, former President of Boonville Road Foods, former President and CEO of Pro-Pet LLC
Presentation training for a private equity cohort
Mid-cap private equity firm, New York
A multi-part presentation workshop for executives across the firm and its portfolio companies, in the run up to the annual meeting.
“Thanks for all your work with our team. I received very positive feedback from audience members about how impressive our folks were. As I watched and listened, it was also obvious to me which of us had attended your program and who had not, the difference was real. Thanks for making such a positive impact. Looking forward to you working with our next cohort.”
CEO, mid-cap private equity firm, New York
Executives
One-to-one coaching
A stalled career at a Fortune 50 bank
Two sessions on preparing for high-stakes conversations, followed by additional sessions on interview preparation.
“My tendency to ramble had stalled my career as a mid-level executive at a Fortune 50 bank. In two sessions, John taught me to prepare for crucial conversations and meetings with a simple framework for focusing. My management immediately noted significant improvement, but didn’t promote me, as promised. I signed up for more sessions, to prepare for interviews. Two months later, I landed a senior role at another bank with significantly higher compensation. I’m happy to say John’s coaching has a compelling Return on Investment and an enormously positive impact.”
Director of Risk Management, Fortune 50 bank, New Jersey
Team coaching and one-to-one
Thirteen leaders at Forvis Mazars
Group work across the leadership team, followed by intensive one-to-one writing, coaching and rehearsal.
“To a person, all 13 of us really enjoyed the experience of working with you. Very impactful! A+ for the 1:1 coaching. You’ve got 13 people who are going to look at things very differently from now on every time they present.”
Tim York, Chief Growth Officer and Governing Board Chair, Forvis Mazars
Teams and workshops
Sales team training
A Fortune 500 financial services firm
A working session with a sales team on preparing for meetings, pitches, presentations and calls.
“90% of my team’s success comes from being able to talk well. Sales is ultimately about how well you can listen and speak. If you ask us how often we feel like we present poorly, the answer is about 50%. John’s clearly explained, easy-to-learn principles gave us a template for preparing for meetings, pitches, presentations, and conference calls. Everyone who’s used his methods feels better about their performance.”
Director, Fortune 500 financial services firm, New York
Webinar for 2,400 members
CFA Society Philadelphia
John spoke in advance with members about their needs and challenges, then built the session around their input.
“John recently hosted a webinar on public speaking skills for our 2400 members. The event was a complete success. John was engaging, thought-provoking, and entertaining. I was extremely impressed by the way he customized his presentation by speaking in advance with our members about their experiences. I recommend him to any organization seeking to develop public speaking skills for their constituents.”
Peter M. Conners, CAE, Executive Director of CFA Society Philadelphia
CLE seminar for attorneys
Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
A workshop built for trial attorneys, including analysis of real courtroom arguments.
“John gave us an extremely insightful and engaging public speaking workshop. He did a terrific job tailoring it to an audience of attorneys. He showed he knew many of the special ethical rules that govern how we speak to juries, and he offered excellent analysis of videos of real attorney arguments to give us concrete examples of what to do and what not to do. I’d recommend working with John for a fun and informative CLE seminar.”
John Snow, Deputy City Attorney at Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Director, Legal and Trial Training
More from clients
“John’s ideas were so eye-opening. We keep talking about his three points and how much sense they make. If you review every less-than-persuasive presentation you’ve ever given and apply his clear and simple tools, you’ll see how to connect better with your audience next time and speak more convincingly.”
Principal, SHoP Architects, New York
“I reached out to John for last-minute help on a talk I had been invited to give. I was nervous. What I got was very different from what I expected; in fact, it was transformational. I cannot recommend him more highly. Whenever I have a talk coming up, I reach out to sharpen my thinking about what to say and how to say it.”
Peter Spear, Principal at SPEAR
“I’m an accomplished, successful trial attorney. Yet I’ve always dreaded public speaking. After listening to I Have Something to Say and working briefly with John, my relationship with public speaking has changed. Instead of feeling anxious, I have courage and confidence. I know who my audience is, why I’m speaking, and how to tailor my message to focus on their needs.”
Attorney, Boise, Idaho
“John has the most original and helpful way I’ve ever heard about to prepare for a presentation. I like this guy!”
Participant, educational talk for the Wells Fargo Women in Technology group
“John’s method allowed me to think more strategically about preparing and delivering my ideas in meetings and presentations. It’s not theoretical, it’s a structured application that I can revisit and keep learning from. I feel measurably less nervous and more secure when speaking now.”
Matt Erke, Senior Development Officer at Wildlife Conservation Society
“Hiring John for my TEDx talk was the ultimate power move. He made sure I stuck with my talking points, forced me to articulate them and make them personal very precisely and with zero rambling, then coached me to a delivery far more compelling than I thought I was capable of.”
Molly Hankins, Experiential Event Planner, Storyteller and TEDx Speaker
“I found John’s workshop to be the most useful of the Summit talks I have attended. He was speaking about a subject I’m extremely curious about. I immediately applied some ideas to an upcoming presentation.”
Tanya Chalich, Family Office Executive, Summit Junto
“Had to get up to speed on new and difficult topics for university advancement, astrophysics and neuroscience, at least enough to make introductions and set the stage. John helped with confidence, clarity and calm. Grateful.”
Elizabeth (Keenan) Thompson, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, West Virginia University Foundation
Questions
What kind of results does John Bowe’s coaching produce?
Clients have closed mergers, won promotions, landed senior roles, delivered TEDx talks and learned to run shorter, more effective meetings. The pattern is the same in each case. Clients become more intentional about what to say, how to package it, and how to deliver it authentically under pressure.
Who does he work with?
CEOs and management teams preparing for M&A management presentations and investor meetings, executives preparing for interviews and high-stakes conversations, and teams who present as part of their job. Clients include UBS, Wells Fargo, Burger King, NBC and Forvis Mazars.
Does he work with teams or individuals?
Both. Team sessions run from one hour to a full day. One-to-one coaching is usually a number of sessions aimed at a specific, upcoming goal.
What happens in a session?
You quickly learn some key principles, including how to distill your material to core messages and make it relevant to your audience. You learn to organize and sequence it so it’s easy to remember and deliver under pressure, and how to write the talk and design the slides. Finally, you learn to practice, taking authentic ownership of your voice and delivery and using them confidently.
How quickly do people see a difference?
Most of the results described on this page came from a handful of sessions. One client describes a measurable change after two.
How do I find out if it will work for my team?
Schedule a 20-minute call and tell John what you need. He will work out how he can help, or tell you it’s not a fit.
Presentation, panel or high-stakes meeting coming up?
Twenty minutes, no charge. If it’s not a fit, he’ll tell you so.
Book a free 20-minute call