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David L. Cohen, senior executive vice president of Comcast, will be stepping down from his day-to-day operational responsibilities over public policy, government relations and diversity next year.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Comcast CEO Brian Roberts sent an email around to employees in the Philadelphia-based company explaining that Cohen will keep his executive vice president title, but his current responsibilities will be divvied up to other executives starting on Jan. 1. Cohen is a veteran media executive who has worked in senior roles with Comcast for the past 18 years and has done so within numerous areas – from communications to corporate administration.
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After 2020, Cohen will become the new senior advisor to the CEO “continuing to provide advice and support to me and the other senior executives in the company,” Roberts wrote in the email, according to The Inquirer. Roberts also included this information in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday, reported Variety.
The email included a quote from Cohen expressing his reflection on the new post.
“As I look toward my 65th birthday next year, I recognized that I needed to focus on Comcast’s next 10 years – who was going to be by Brian’s side as he continues to lead our company into the future – and on my own personal life which has candidly taken a back seat to my professional life,” Cohen reportedly wrote in an email to staff. “So I’ve decided that it’s time for this transition.”
In another note, Cohen said he was looking forward to the transition because it will allow him more time to focus on civic and philanthropic missions close to his heart.
“I’m excited about this next chapter of my career and I am also looking forward to dedicating more of my time to civic and charitable activities that I have been so involved with,” he wrote.
Before Comcast, Cohen was a partner at the Ballard Spahr law firm and prior to that, he worked as chief of staff to former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell.
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In the staff email, Roberts credits Cohen for helping to grow Comcast “into the great company it is today.”
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However, Comcast has come under major scrutiny recently in its legal battle with Byron Allen, CEO, and President of Entertainment Studios, who called out the cable giant for discriminatory practices in business. Allen has received support from fellow media mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs, who owns the REVOLT network, often held as an example of Comcast’s dedication to diversity. Diddy, however, has said that while starting REVOLT was an important endeavor, he never received the “level of support needed to build a successful African American owned network.”
