Mark Steven Cohon, (born March 16, 1966) is the chairman of the

Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is a non-profit organization responsible for promoting Canadian music and artists. It administers the Juno Awards, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the MusiCounts music education cha ...

(CARAS). He was also the 12th

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

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 ci ...

. The son of

McDonald's Canada McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Limited (french: Les Restaurants McDonald's du Canada Limitée) is the Canadian master franchise of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's, owned by the American parent McDonald's Corporation. One of 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 fathe ...

, he was appointed as commissioner in 2007 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 = Country , subdivision_name ...

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

, and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 Ca ...

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, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

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. Charte ...

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 vario ...

in 2006. In 2013, he was made a Member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

and in 2015, he was awarded the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

CFL commissioner

In 2007 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 Jeffrey Lyndon Orridge (born 1960) is the chief executive officer of TVOntario, the provincial educational television network. He was appointed effective November 30, 2020. Previously he served as 13th Commissioner of the Canadian Football Leagu ...

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

(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 of ...

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