David L. Cohen (born 1955) is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and diplomat who is the

United States ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...

. He previously served as the senior advisor to the CEO of

Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

. Until January 1, 2020, he was senior executive vice president and chief lobbyist for Comcast. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees for the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and was chief of staff to former Philadelphia Mayor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

Early life and education

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in New York, Cohen graduated from Swarthmore College, in 1977, where he triple-majored in political science, history, and economics. In 1981, he graduated with a J.D. from the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...

Career

Cohen served as chief of staff to Philadelphia Mayor

, from January 1992 to April 1997. According to a 2021 article in ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', during his time as chief of staff, Cohen was "famous for reining in unions representing city workers during Philadelphia's bankruptcy in 1992". In 1998, he served as the chief negotiator for

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

during a 40-day labor strike conducted by the

Transport Workers Union of America Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article dis ...

. He was a partner in Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll. In July 2002, he became EVP of

, dealing with corporate communications, government affairs, public affairs, corporate administration, and serving as senior counsel to the CEO. He was named to the

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the we ...

"Power 50" list of politically influential individuals in 2002 and 2003. The ''Pennsylvania Report'' named him to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, noting that "No one–in or out of government–is closer to Ed Rendell than Cohen." In 2009, he was included in "The Pennsylvania Report 100" list of influential figures in state politics, noting him as "one Philadelphian that all statewide Dems should know." In 2010, '' Politics Magazine'' named him one of the "Top 10 Democrats" in Pennsylvania. ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

'' magazine listed him as the third-most powerful person in Philadelphia and the top "Connector", whose "influence knows no limits", in its ''75 Most Influential People Right Now'' list in 2014. In February 2013, Cohen endorsed sitting Republican Governor

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1995 t ...

's failed re-election bid.

Ambassador to Canada

On July 21, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Cohen as the United States ambassador to Canada. The

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

held hearings to examine Cohen's nomination on September 22, 2021. The committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate floor on October 19, 2021. Cohen was officially confirmed by the Senate in a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

on November 2, 2021. Cohen was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

on December 1, 2021. On December 7, 2021, he presented his credentials to

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Mary Simon Mary Jeannie May Simon (in Inuktitut syllabics: ᒥᐊᓕ ᓴᐃᒪᓐ, iu, script=Latn, Ningiukudluk; born August 21, 1947) is a Canadian civil servant, diplomat, and former broadcaster who has served as the 30th governor general of Canada ...

References

External links

Comcast Executive Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, David L. 1955 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Canada American business executives Businesspeople from Philadelphia Comcast people Jewish American attorneys Pennsylvania lawyers Swarthmore College alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni