Mark Steven Cohon, (born March 16, 1966) is the chairman of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). He was also the 12th commissioner of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

. The son of McDonald's Canada founder

George Cohon George Alan Cohon, (born April 19, 1937) is an American-born Canadian businessman who is the founder and senior chairman of McDonald's Canada and McDonald's Russia. Early life and education George Alan Cohon was born to a Ukrainian-Jewish fat ...

, he was appointed as commissioner in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

succeeding Tom Wright.

Early life

Cohon was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

when he was two years old. He holds both Canadian and American citizenship.

Education

Cohon is a graduate of

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, Single-sex education, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious University-prep ...

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

with a Bachelor of Science majoring in communication studies

Sports marketing

Cohon worked at the NBA as head of international marketing and Major League Baseball International as head of corporate development. before becoming President and chief executive officer o
AudienceView Ticketing
a company which sells ticketing systems and services to sports, arts and entertainment events.

Ontario Science Centre chairman

In 2003, Cohon was appointed to the board of trustees of the

Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eg ...

and then named

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

in 2006. In 2013, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario and in 2015, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

CFL commissioner

Mark Cohon succeeded Tom Wright as the Commissioner of the

. Under the direction of Cohon the CFL went through a remarkable renaissance. From record TV ratings to the building of $2 billion in new stadiums to the expansion back to Ottawa, to overseeing two labour agreements to the national celebration of the 100th Grey Cup and finally to the tripling of TV revenues with a new contract with Bell media, Cohon is credited in bringing back the CFL to prominence in Canada. In August 2014, Cohon announced that he would not seek a third term as CFL Commissioner, announcing that he had completed everything he set out to accomplish and it was time to seek new challenges in his career. He stepped down on January 9, 2015 and was replaced by board chairperson Jim Lawson on an interim basis. Jeffrey Orridge was appointed the new CFL Commissioner effective April 29, 2015.

Post CFL commissioner career

On September 29, 2015, Cohon was appointed as the new chairman of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

responsible for "preserv(ing) and enhanc(ing) the Canadian music industry and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards" as well as overseeing the annual

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

for the Canadian music industry. Given his success at transforming the CFL, the CARAS board wanted to bring in an experienced executive outside the music industry to transform the future of the Juno Awards. Mark is also Chair of Toronto Global, an organization funded by three levels of government charged with promoting the Toronto region around the world and attracting foreign direct investment. The Toronto Global team led the RFP process for Amazon HQ2, making it to the short list of 20 North American cities and the only Canadian city on that list. Their Amazon HQ2 bid book was widely praised as a document that truly captured the excitement and growth that is happening in the Toronto region. On the business front, Georgian Bay Spirit Co shows Mark as chairman and partner in that company. According to their website, they won best Vodka in the world at the San Francisco Spirits Competition and are producers of the best selling cooler in the LCBO, Georgian Bay Gin Smash.

Personal life

In 2002, Cohon married Suzanne Elizabeth Lucido.

References

External links

CFL.ca blog page

* ttp://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=740094478 Mark Cohon, second interview on "The Hour" with George Stroumboulopoulosbr>"Why the CFL Matters" (a blog by Mark Cohon on NationalPost.com)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohon, Mark 1966 births Living people Canadian Football League commissioners Canadian people of American-Jewish descent Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian sportspeople Members of the Order of Ontario Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Sportspeople from Chicago Sportspeople from Toronto American emigrants to Canada