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, David 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, David 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, David 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, David 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.
David 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, David 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. He is also Honorary Chair of Campus Philly’s Board of Directors, is Chair of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, is a member of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, and is Chair of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Philadelphia Bid Committee. David also serves as Chair of the national board of City Year and its Executive Committee and Chair of its Governance Committee. He also serves on the national board of the National Urban League and is Chair of its Audit Committee, and is Chair of the Corporate Advisory Board of UnidosUS. Additionally, David is a member of the Board of Directors of FS Global Credit Opportunities Fund and serves as Chair of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
David 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), Kappa Alpha Psi’s “Distinguished Citizens Award” (2019), and has consistently been named to Black Enterprise magazine’s list of top corporate diversity executives. David also was awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Drexel University (1997), Rider University (2010), and Rowan University (2017).
David lives in Philadelphia with his wife.
