Emory University’s Board of Trustees elected Goldman Sachs Growth Equity Team co-Head and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Darren Cohen (96C) and Bishop Robin Dease on Oct. 25.
The board manages the governance and welfare of the entire institution, creating University policy and possessing fiduciary responsibility. Trustees serve initial six-year terms, which are renewable for four-year successive terms. The board, which can have up to 45 trustee positions, currently has 36 members with the addition of Cohen and Dease.
Goddard Investment Group CEO Robert Goddard III is the current chair of the board, while Bishop William T. McAlilly(81T) and Smith, Gambrell & Russell Partner Leah Ward Sears (80L) serve as the vice chairs. Other members include former Coca-Cola Company Vice President Javier C. Goizueta, Aflac Foundation President Kathelen Amos (79C), Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Senior Program Officer Teresa Rivero (85Ox, 87B, 93MPH).
Cohen graduated summa cum laude from Emory in 1996 and played on the men’s tennis team during his time at Emory.
After earning his degrees in philosophy and political science, Cohen served as an analyst for Accenture plc, an Irish-American consulting and technology strategy firm.
He then spent over two years at the Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, now owned by B. Riley Financial, as a vice president in investment research. After leaving the company, Cohen began his career at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. as executive director in investment research before leaving after three years to serve as a senior analyst for Calypso Capital Management LP.
Cohen returned to Goldman Sachs in 2007 to serve as a vice president. In his current role as Growth Equity Team co-head and CIO, which he has held since 2018, Cohen runs a $5.2 billion growth fund and oversees one of the world’s largest growth equity platforms.
Dease is the Episcopal leader of the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference. She grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. with 12 siblings. After receiving her bachelor's degree from Claflin University (S.C.), Dease went on to earn a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary (D.C.).
In 1992, Dease joined the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church before becoming a full-time pastor in 1998 and an ordained elder in 2001.
Throughout her career, Dease has worked at multiple churches across Georgia and has served on various denominational and conference boards, including as a delegate for the United Methodist Church’s general and jurisdictional conferences in 2012, 2016 and 2020. The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference elected her as a bishop in 2022.
