David L. Cohen is a Senior Executive Vice President and the Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation. He has a broad portfolio of responsibilities, including corporate communications, government and regulatory affairs, public affairs, corporate administration, corporate real estate and security, and community impact. He also serves as senior counselor to the CEO. Before joining Comcast in July of 2002, Cohen served as a partner in and Chairman of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the country.
A native of New York, Cohen graduated from Swarthmore College in 1977 with a B.A. and in 1981 with a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (summa cum laude). From January 1992 to April 1997, Cohen served as Chief of Staff to the Honorable Edward G. Rendell, the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. As detailed in the book A Prayer for the City, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger, Cohen played a critical coordinating role in significant budgetary and financial issues, in economic development activities, in collective bargaining negotiations, and in a wide variety of other policy and operational issues relating to the city.
Cohen serves as Chairman of the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and its Executive Committee. He also serves as a member of the Trustee Board and the Executive Committee of Penn Medicine. In addition, Cohen serves on both the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Chamber’s CEO Council for Growth.
Cohen has received numerous awards for his civic and charitable activities, including the Americanism Award of the Anti-Defamation League (1993), the American Red Cross Citizen of the Year Award (1999), the National Cable Television Association Vanguard Award for Leadership and Impact in the Cable Industry (2005), the President’s Volunteer Service Award (2007), the MS Society Hope Award (2007), the Drexel University Business Leader of the Year Award (2008), the National Urban League of Philadelphia Business Leader of the Year Award (2008), The William Way Community Center Amicus in Res Award (2009), the William Penn Award from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (2012), the Spirit of Asian American Award (2012), the Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award (2012), the Community Hero Award (2013), the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Champion of Youth Award (2015), the Peirce College Legacy of Leadership Award (2016), the Minority Corporate Counsel Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), the 4-H Brand Champion Award (2018), and has consistently been named to Black Enterprise magazine’s list of top corporate diversity executives. Cohen also was awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Drexel University (1997), Rider University (2010), and Rowan University (2017).
Cohen lives in Philadelphia with his wife.