Gary Cohn is an American business leader, investor and the former director of the U.S. National Economic Council. He is an internationally recognized expert on the financial markets, global economy, U.S. politics and economic policy.
Mr. Cohn is Vice Chairman of IBM, working in partnership with IBM’s Executive Leadership Team on a wide range of business initiatives and external engagement, in areas including business development, public advocacy and client relationship management.
Mr. Cohn served as Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council from 2017-2018. As chief economic advisor to the president of the United States, Mr. Cohn managed the administration’s economic policy agenda and led the successful effort to grow the U.S. economy, create jobs and increase wages through tax and regulatory reform.
Before serving in the White House, Mr. Cohn was President and Chief Operating Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from 2006-2016. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1990 and held several other leadership positions including Global Co-Head of the Equities and Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division. He was a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Chairman of the Firmwide Client and Business Standards Committee.
Mr. Cohn began his career at U.S. Steel before moving to New York to trade on the New York Commodities Exchange from 1982-1990.
Mr. Cohn invests across the cybersecurity, block chain infrastructure, regulatory technology and medical technology sectors. He serves on the corporate boards of Abyrx, Gro Intelligence, Lazurite and Nanopay and is the Chairman of the Board of Pallas Advisors. Additionally, Mr. Cohn serves on the advisory board for Starling. He is a member of the Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee (SRAC) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Mr. Cohn has long been dedicated to advancing healthcare and education. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone Health and serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board for the NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital. He is also on the Board of Overseers of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. In 2019 Mr. Cohn was a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
Mr. Cohn lives in New York with his wife and three daughters. He grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and received his undergraduate degree from American University in 1982.