William Cohan: Turning Setbacks into Success with the Power of Persistence

William Cohan pulled out all the stops to get the Wall Street Journal to hire him, including getting an MBA, but they just wouldn’t. So he turned to corporate America. After nearly two decades as an investment banker, he got kicked out of Wall Street, forcing him to pivot again. In today’s episode, William shares the incredible story of how he went from broke, award-winning journalist to investment banker to bestselling author.

William Cohan is a prolific author and founding partner of Puck, a daily digital news and opinion publication focused on business. His first book, The Last Tycoons, won the 2007Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

In this episode, Ilana and William will discuss:

- His journey from broke journalist to investment banker

- The parallels between journalism and finance

- His expulsion from Wall Street

- How he reinvented himself as an award-winning writer

- Lessons from the downfall of General Electric

- The value of transferable skills across different industries

- How being open to new possibilities can lead to unexpected career paths

- Persistence in the face of resistance

- The need for CEOs to be open to dissenting views

- And other topics…

William D. Cohan is the bestselling author of The Last Tycoons, which won the 2007Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. He has also written several other books on the financial sector, including his latest, Power Failure. He is a former Wall Street M&A investment banker with 17 years of experience at prestigious firms like Lazard Frères & Co., Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase. William is also a former special correspondent at Vanity Fair and a founding partner of Puck, a daily digital news and opinion publication focused on business. His writing has appeared in The Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and The Atlantic, among others.

Connect with William:

William’s Website: https://williamcohan.com/

William’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdcohan/

Resources Mentioned:

William’s Book, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Failure-Rise-Fall-American/dp/0593084160/