David L. Cohen, Executive VP Comcast Corp.
Comcast Corp. executive vice president David L. Cohen’s broad portfolio of responsibilities includes corporate legal, human resources, communications, government affairs, public affairs, corporate administration and serving as senior counselor to the CEO. Before assuming this position in 2002, he served as chairman and partner of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP, one of the country’s 100 largest law firms.
Cohen has made it a corporate priority to tap the full range of Comcast’s resources — including its 90,000 employees, foundation and corporate giving programs, signature community investment initiatives and on-air capabilities — to strengthen and promote the company’s deep connections with local communities and to distinguish Comcast from its competitors in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Since joining Comcast, Cohen has overseen the most successful employee-led community investment initiatives in the cable operator’s history and focused the efforts of the Comcast Foundation on youth leadership, volunteerism and literacy. Here are some highlights:
- Comcast Cares Day: The company’s signature day of service, provides employees with the opportunity to demonstrate their personal commitment to their local communities. In 2006, more than 32,000 employees, friends, and family members gave back to their neighborhoods by participating in nearly 300 community projects, ranging from planting trees and painting schools to helping the homeless and refurbishing housing for displaced residents. The sixth annual Cares Day was the company’s most successful ever with employees contributing 192,000 volunteer hours of service — the equivalent of 88 years of service — in a single day.
- Comcast United Way Campaign: Over the past three years, Comcast’s campaigns have generated more than $9.5 million in employee and Comcast Foundation contributions. Since 2004, United Way donations have grown from $2.3 million to $4.1 million, an impressive 78% increase, and a testament to Cohen’s successful strategic planning and contagious commitment to giving back.
- Comcast Foundation: Under Cohen’s co-chairmanship, the Foundation now distributes more than $11.2 million in grants and scholarships each year, up more than 250% since 2002. With an anticipated $1 million increase in 2007, the Foundation will continue to seek a strong social return on investment, with a particular emphasis on expanded partnerships with diverse organizations.
- National Partnerships: The company’s premiere national partnerships for the past several years include PDFA (Partnership for a Drug Free America) and City Year. Cohen serves as a national trustee of City Year, a youth service organization which supports the company’s goals of encouraging volunteerism and building trust and strong relationships in the neighborhoods Comcast serves.
Cohen’s professional and personal commitment extends to dedicating time in service to community-based organizations.
He is currently a board and executive committee member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber’s CEO Council for Growth.
Additionally, he is the chair of the Trustee Board and the Executive Committee of Penn Medicine, and serves as a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and as a member of its Executive Committee.
In recognition of his civic and charitable activities, Cohen has received numerous awards including the Police Athletic League Award (2001), the United Way’s Citizen Volunteer of the Year Award (2002), the City Year Philadelphia Lifetime of Idealism Award (2004), and American Red Cross Celebration of Volunteers Award (2006).
Abbe Raven, President, CEO A&E Television Networks
Abbe Raven is president and CEO of A&E Television Networks (AETN), encompassing A&E Network, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, History International, Military History Channel, The History Channel en español, Crime & Investigation Network, AETN International and AETN Consumer Products.
In April 2005, Raven received the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership from the National Cable Television Association for her 23 years of leadership in the cable industry. During her tenure at AETN, Raven has been honored for building some of the most prominent and highly valued cable networks and for standing at the forefront of numerous industry-wide initiatives, from addressing violence on television to developing numerous educational outreach programs. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, Raven was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Power 100 Women in Entertainment” and Cable World’s “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Cable.”
Under her stewardship, AETN has expanded its commitment to community outreach programs and education has always been the cornerstone of that commitment. Building on that platform, Raven and her team have created a number of award-winning initiatives with not-for-profit organizations, cable affiliates and advertisers to reach out to local schools, communities and national grassroots organizations to raise awareness of a wide range of issues from historical education and preservation to drug abuse prevention.
The History Channel’s Emmy award-winning initiative, Save Our History, A&E’s Lives That Make a Difference, and the Bio Project for Schools have been the vehicles to place education at the forefront of national attention through successful partnerships between local communities and The White House, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
AETN’s community outreach initiatives reach over 200,000 teachers across the country and support over 45 national sites and museums including The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Ellis Island, Pearl Harbor, the African-American Museum in Baltimore, the New York Historical Society and Constitutional Hall in Philadelphia.
Prior to her current position, Raven was president of A&E Network USA since September 2004 and executive vice president and general manager of A&E Network and The Biography Channel since October 2002. Under her leadership, A&E Network launched a new crop of buzz-worthy real-life programming including Intervention, Growing Up Gotti and Dog The Bounty Hunter which lead to double-digit growth in the network’s target demographic and a record 24 Emmy nominations.
Previous to A&E Network, Raven was executive vice president and general manager, The History Channel. Under her direction, The History Channel became a leading cable network and won several prestigious awards, including an Emmy Award and two George Foster Peabody Awards for outstanding documentary programming.
Raven serves on the board of directors of the NCTA and CTAM’s Educational Foundation. In fall 2005, she was elected a director of The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Raven is also co-chair of Cable in The Classroom and is a member of Women in Cable and Telecommunications, American Women in Radio & Television and The National Council for History Education.
A&E Television Networks, a joint venture of The Hearst Corp., ABC Inc. and NBC Universal, is an award-winning, international media company offering consumers a diverse communications environment ranging from television programming, to home videos/DVDs and music CDs, to Web sites, as well as supporting nationwide educational initiatives.
