UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

Current Report

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 24, 2020

COWEN INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Delaware	001-34516	27-0423711
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

599 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10022

(Address of Principal Executive Offices and Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 845-7900

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

      Emerging growth company o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.   o

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol	Name of Exchange on Which Registered
Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share	COWN	The Nasdaq Global Market
7.35% Senior Notes due 2027	COWNZ	The Nasdaq Global Market
7.75% Senior Notes due 2033	COWNL	The Nasdaq Global Market

2

Item 5.02.    Departures of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On April 24, 2020 the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Cowen Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Gregg A. Gonsalves to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Gonsalves’s appointment expands the Board to ten directors.

Mr. Gonsalves joins the Board of Directors of Cowen with comprehensive experience in real estate and finance. Mr. Gonsalves has been an advisory partner with Integrated Capital LLC, a leading, hotel-focused, private real estate advisory and investment firm since 2013. Prior to joining Integrated Capital, Mr. Gonsalves was a managing director at Goldman Sachs and was the partner responsible for the Real Estate Mergers & Acquisition business. In his 20-year career at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Gonsalves completed over 50 M&A transactions worth approximately $100 billion in deal value, working with a variety of companies in a wide range of industries. Mr. Gonsalves serves on the Board of Directors of Cedar Realty Trust, a publicly-traded retail REIT, and is on the Board of POP Tracker LLC, a private company focused on providing proof of performance to the out-of-home advertising industry. He began his career as a sales engineer at Mobil Oil Corporation from 1989 to 1991. Mr. Gonsalves received a B.S. from Columbia University and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Gonsalves is presently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides higher education scholarships and leadership development opportunities to minority students across the U.S. Mr. Gonsalves has served as a Board member for the Foundation for over a decade.

On April 27, 2020, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Gonsalves. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)	Exhibit
99.1	Press Release issued by the Company dated April 27, 2020.

3

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

COWEN INC.

Dated: April 27, 2020        By: _/s/ Owen S. Littman__

Name:    Owen S. Littman     

Title:     General Counsel

4