John C. Burns III

John Burns is the Founder and Managing Director of Clare Advisors, a boutique financial firm that provides mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory services to digital advertising, marketing, and communications businesses globally. 

 

John has two decades of M&A and financial advisory experience. He spent eight years working on Wall Street, starting as an Associate at AdMedia Partners, one of the pre-eminent independent M&A advisory firms focused on the advertising and media industries. Prior to founding Clare Advisors in 2014, he was a Vice President of M&A at Gridley & Company Investment Bank. Over the last 20 years, John has worked closely with over 100 agency owners and advised on over $1 billion in M&A transactions. He and the Clare Advisors team work with business owners on buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions with a particular focus on aligning agency culture to maximize long-term shareholder and stakeholder value. 

 

John graduated from St. Mary’s College of California with a B.S. Honors Concentration in Finance, as well as a degree in Philosophy. He received his MBA from The Robert E. McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.