Inside The M&A Advisor’s 2026 Leadership in Dealmaking Summit

NEW YORK, September 20, 2026 — Today, every dealmaker stands at a crossroads. Markets swing with uncertainty, technology rewrites the rules overnight, and the pressure to lead with clarity has never been greater.

That’s the backdrop against which The M&A Advisor staged its 2026 Leadership in Dealmaking Summit on September 14 & 15 at the iconic New York Athletic Club. For two days, the industry’s most trusted voices — from private equity to restructuring and corporate finance — stepped out of the noise to share what matters most: experience, perspective, and the relationships that shape what’s next in dealmaking.

The conversations at the Summit didn’t just reflect that complexity — they gave dealmakers a compass for navigating it.

The Deal Forum: Where Experience Meets What’s Next

At the heart of the Summit, the Deal Forum became the crucible where experience met what’s next. Leaders tackled the forces reshaping transactions — from AI and value creation to human capital, trust, and the kind of leadership demanded when the future is uncertain.

The timing was pivotal. After a strong start to 2026, cracks in the third‑quarter cycle had already surfaced, igniting debate among financial institutions about what lies ahead.

The Deal Forum united top executives, advisors, and thought leaders in a series of M&A Ideas™ sessions that cut straight to the questions shaping tomorrow’s deals. Instead of rehashing yesterday’s headlines, the conversations zeroed in on what leaders must watch, prepare for, and act on next.

From strategy to execution, the sessions delivered powerful lessons and forward‑looking insights — shared by the voices driving the future of dealmaking. Here’s the lineup of sessions that defined the Deal Forum — where industry leaders shared sharp insights, bold strategies, and lessons every dealmaker needs to hear.

Together, these voices represented more than a collection of industry perspectives. They reflected the increasingly interconnected nature of modern dealmaking—where capital, technology, people, relationships and judgment must work together.

From Information to Judgment

One of the Summit’s central themes was the changing value of expertise.

AI and advanced technology are making information, analysis and market intelligence increasingly accessible. But greater access to information does not necessarily make decisions easier.

As The M&A Advisor recently observed, “judgment is becoming the scarce asset.”

That distinction resonated throughout the Leadership in Dealmaking Summit.

The next generation of successful dealmaking will require more than technical expertise. It will demand the ability to interpret information, challenge assumptions, understand people, build trust and make decisions when certainty is unavailable.

That is precisely where a gathering of experienced practitioners becomes valuable.

Relationships Remain at the Center

The Summit also reinforced a fundamental reality of M&A: deals are ultimately built by people.

Relationships cannot be created at the moment a transaction needs them. Trust takes time. Institutional knowledge takes experience. And the ability to pick up the phone and have a meaningful conversation with the right person can become an invaluable strategic advantage.

That philosophy is deeply woven into The M&A Advisor’s broader approach to building the dealmaking community. This commitment came to life at the Summit’s opening cocktail reception on September 14, 2026, hosted at Tanner Smith’s, where relationships were sparked in a lively, welcoming setting.

The evening also carried a personal highlight, as the cocktail reception included a special celebration of Roger Aguinaldo, Founder and CEO of The M&A Advisor, marking his 60th birthday — a milestone that added warmth and connection to the night’s atmosphere.

The momentum continued the next day at the Deal Forum of the Leadership in Dealmaking Summit on September 15, 2026. Participants joined a dynamic mix of M&A Ideas™ thought leadership sessions, M&A Connects™ one‑on‑one meetings, and M&A TV™ conversations — each designed to spark knowledge exchange, strengthen connections, and highlight emerging insights.

Excellence Takes Centerstage at the Awards Gala

On the evening of September 15, 2026, The M&A Advisor celebrated its 25th anniversary of recognizing excellence in the M&A and restructuring community. The celebration featured the presentation of the 17th Annual International M&A Awards and the 17th Annual Emerging Leaders Awards, alongside honoring the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients:

• G. Cook Jordan, Jr. | Co‑Founder & Managing Principal, Jordan Knauff & Company
• The Honorable Robert D. Drain | Senior Advisor and Head of Fiduciary Services, M3 Partners; Former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

The evening concluded with a lively networking party, where winners celebrated their victories together.

View the 2026 Leadership in Dealmaking Summit Awards Journal

Meet the leaders and organizations shaping the next era of dealmaking. Access the Awards Journal here.

A Summit That Looked Beyond the Current Cycle

From the opening cocktail reception to the Deal Forum and the awards gala, the 2026 Leadership in Dealmaking Summit built a strong platform for learning, networking, and recognition. This spirit of connection ran through every part of the event, reflecting The M&A Advisor’s belief that engagement is an investment in the relationships that hold the global dealmaking community together.

That investment matters more than ever. Cross‑border transactions now face tougher regulations, shifting geopolitical pressures, and unpredictable market conditions. At the same time, the market is sending mixed signals.

Preliminary third‑quarter data shows global M&A activity cooling after a strong first half, with fewer megadeals driving the slowdown. Meanwhile, major financial institutions are divided on how long the current cycle will last. (VRC, 2026)

This uncertainty made the Summit’s focus on leadership especially timely. The real question was not where the market stands today, but what the next deal environment will demand from those determined to shape it.

The answer from the Deal Forum was clear: stronger relationships, sharper judgment, greater adaptability, technological fluency, disciplined execution, and a willingness to look beyond the immediate transaction.

The Conversation Continues

The Leadership in Dealmaking Summit may have concluded, but the conversation does not stop there.

The next opportunity to reconnect with the global dealmaking community arrives at The M&A Advisor’s 2026 Future of Dealmaking Summit, scheduled for November 16 & 17 at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.

Following the Leadership in Dealmaking Summit’s focus on leadership, relationships and navigating the current market, the Future of Dealmaking Summit will provide another opportunity for M&A, restructuring, private equity and corporate finance professionals to examine the forces shaping the next era of transactions.

Because the future of dealmaking will not be defined by one market cycle, one technology or one transaction.

It will be shaped by the leaders who are willing to anticipate what comes next, build the relationships that make it possible, and act when opportunity arrives.

The conversation continues in November, 2026.

Join The M&A Advisor at the 2026 Future of Dealmaking Summit and be part of the conversations shaping what comes next. Register today.

References:

Valuation Research Company. “What’s the Deal with Deals? Q3 2026 Valuations & Deal Trends: M&A, Private Equity, Credit Markets, and Regulatory Updates.” John Czapla | Justin Johnson | PJ Patel, 2026. https://www.valuationresearch.com/insights/whats-the-deal-with-deals-q3-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com