Technology

Former Trump adviser named vice-chairman at IBM

Gary Cohn is also a 26-year veteran at Goldman Sachs

IBM has named Gary Cohn, a former top economic adviser to president Donald Trump, as vice-chairman. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

Wed Jan 6 2021 - 15:11

IBM have named Gary Cohn, a former top economic adviser to president Donald Trump and former president at Goldman Sachs Group, as vice-chairman.

Mr Cohn (60) served as assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council from January 2017 until April 2018.

Before serving in the White House, he was president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs from 2006-2016, and held a number of other leadership positions during his 26 years with the investment bank.

He said last month that he will make a charitable donation instead of giving back compensation to Goldman Sachs as penance for the Wall Street bank’s involvement in Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign fund corruption scandal.

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Mr Cohn will work with IBM chief executive Arvind Krishna on "a wide range of business initiatives and external engagement, in areas including business development, client services, public advocacy and client relationship management", the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Mr Krishna took the helm at IBM as the pandemic gripped the global economy. He moved quickly to define the tech company’s future, spinning off IBM’s legacy IT-management services from its new hybrid-cloud computing and artificial intelligence unit, which the company hopes will return it to revenue growth – and relevancy.

In a tweet, Mr Cohn said IBM’s current strategy makes it an “exciting time to begin working alongside” Mr Krishna and IBM’s roster of clients.

Currently, Mr Cohn is co-chairman of Cohn Robbins Holding, a $720 million special-purpose acquisition company he launched with investor Cliff Robbins. He invests across sectors including cybersecurity, blockchain infrastructure, regulatory technology and medical technology.

Mr Cohn said in a tweet that his commitment to Cohn Robbins is “unwavering.”

He has taken on a number of advisory roles since he resigned from the Trump administration over a disagreement about steel and aluminium tariffs, including assignments with a cybersecurity firm, a gaming company and a blockchain startup.

At one point, Mr Cohn was seen as well positioned to rise to the head of Goldman Sachs. But that promotion eluded him before he decided to cast off his corporate jacket and join the Trump administration in Washington. – Bloomberg / Reuters

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