Jared Cohen

Jared Cohen
Born	(1981-11-24) November 24, 1981 Weston, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, historian, executive
Years active	2006–present
Known for	President of Global Affairs at Goldman Sachs; founder and director of Jigsaw (Google Ideas); author
Notable work	Life After Power; Accidental Presidents; The New Digital Age

Jared Andrew Cohen (born November 24, 1981) is an American entrepreneur and historian specializing in presidential affairs, currently holding the position of President of Global Affairs and co-leading the Goldman Sachs Global Institute. He became a Partner and member of the Management Committee at Goldman Sachs in August 2022. Additionally, Cohen serves as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Earlier in his career, he established and directed Jigsaw (previously Google Ideas). Prior to that, he worked on the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, providing counsel to both Condoleezza Rice and subsequently Hillary Clinton.

Initially brought on board by Rice, Cohen was one of the few aides retained by Clinton, concentrating on areas such as counter-terrorism, counter-radicalization, promoting Internet freedom, and supporting opposition movements in authoritarian regimes throughout the Middle East and South Asia. As reported by The New York Times Magazine, he played a key role in shaping "21st century statecraft" within the Department of State's Office of eDiplomacy in 2010. In 2013, Time recognized him as one of their 100 most influential figures.

Early life and education

Cohen was born into a Jewish household in Weston, Connecticut. He completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University in 2004, earning a degree in history and political science with a minor in African studies. Subsequently, he obtained a master's degree in international relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Career

Prior to completing his education, Cohen explored roles related to government and mass media, including an internship with the U.S. State Department.

U.S. State Department

Following his graduation, Cohen joined the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff at age 24, serving from 2006 through 2010. His tenure began under Secretary Condoleezza Rice during the Bush administration and continued under Secretary Hillary Clinton. His responsibilities included developing counter-radicalization initiatives and advising on U.S. policies concerning Iran and the Middle East. Starting April 2009, he facilitated delegations linking technology leaders with counterparts in countries such as Iraq, Russia, Mexico, Congo, and Syria.

During the June 2009 protests in Iran, Cohen persuaded Twitter to postpone scheduled maintenance that would have interrupted Iranian users’ access—an act that contravened official non-interference guidelines but garnered praise from Clinton for aiding opposition communication.

He also provided strategic communications support to Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Recognized as an early government adopter of social media platforms, Cohen ranked third among U.S. government officials for Twitter followers by April 2010—surpassed only by Barack Obama and John McCain—but had fallen outside the top 20 by September 2013.

Google

Cohen departed from the Policy Planning Staff on September 2, 2010. Shortly thereafter, on September 7, he was appointed adjunct senior fellow at The Council on Foreign Relations, concentrating on counter-radicalization efforts. By mid-October 2010, he assumed leadership as the inaugural director of Google Ideas, a new division within Google. Following Alphabet’s formation, Google Ideas evolved into Jigsaw, which Cohen founded and led until 2022. Jigsaw focuses on creating technologies designed to address global issues such as violent extremism, internet censorship, increasing information access for vulnerable groups, and protecting against security threats.

Fast Company noted that Jigsaw employs engineers and researchers who have developed over a dozen distinct products. Wired described Jigsaw as a New York–based tech incubator that utilizes Google's infrastructure to tackle challenges like online surveillance, extremist recruitment tactics, and censorship.

Nonetheless, a 2019 report by Vice Motherboard exposed internal difficulties within Jigsaw including leadership shortcomings, management problems, human resources grievances, retaliation against employees who voiced concerns, and challenges retaining staff—especially women engineers and researchers.

In June 2022, Cohen spoke before the UN Security Council warning that Russian cyber operations and disinformation campaigns related to Ukraine offer a “crystal ball” into future worldwide cyber threats. He called upon nations to develop deterrence strategies specific to cyberspace.

An email sent by Cohen in July 2012 to Hillary Clinton’s team reportedly outlined intentions to deploy a tool monitoring defections within Syria’s regime.

Techno-democracy

David Ignatius of The Washington Post attributes the initial exposition of "techno-democracy" to a November 2020 Foreign Affairs article co-written by Cohen and Richard Fontaine. This concept proposes assembling a 'T-12' coalition of leading democratic nations to jointly challenge China’s technological advancements. Ignatius highlights that this initiative has garnered considerable backing from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Goldman Sachs

In July 2022, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon announced Cohen's appointment as President of Global Affairs and co-leader of the newly established Office of Applied Innovation. Cohen officially joined the firm in August as a Partner and Management Committee member. By October 2023, he had co-launched the Goldman Sachs Global Institute alongside George Lee; the Office of Applied Innovation now functions as a dedicated division within the Institute focusing on cutting-edge technologies.

On October 22, 2022, Cohen traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking the first face-to-face engagement between the Ukrainian president and representatives from the U.S. financial sector since the conflict began in February 2022.

Life After Power

Cohen’s 2024 release, Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House, achieved New York Times Bestseller status. The work delves into the endeavors of seven former U.S. presidents (Jefferson, Adams, Cleveland, Taft, Hoover, Carter, and Bush) after leaving office.

Historian Richard Norton Smith commended the book in the Wall Street Journal, emphasizing Cohen’s insightful depictions of Carter and Bush that enhance this volume as an engaging continuation of his previous works.

Accidental Presidents

Released in 2019, Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America also became a New York Times Bestseller. It chronicles eight vice presidents who unexpectedly ascended to the presidency due to events such as assassinations or sudden deaths, featuring leaders from Lincoln and Kennedy to Harrison and Roosevelt.

The New Digital Age

Co-written with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, The New Digital Age: Re-shaping the Future of People, Nations and Business earned New York Times bestseller recognition. The book explores global geopolitical transformations triggered by billions gaining internet access, forecasting effects on terrorism, conflicts, identity theft, and international diplomacy. Its foundation lies in their 2010 Foreign Affairs article "The Digital Disruption," which underscored technology’s pivotal influence on state-citizen relationships.

The publication attracted critical perspectives: Julian Assange contended it advocates a uniform technological vision favoring dominant global powers, while Evgeny Morozov criticized its optimistic case studies for lacking sufficient context and overstating innovation in worldwide tech initiatives.

Early books

Cohen’s debut work, One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide (2006, Rowman & Littlefield), investigates U.S. policy responses during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.

His follow-up book, Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East (2007, Penguin/Gotham), was also produced as an audiobook and translated into Dutch and Italian editions.

Together with Eric Schmidt, Cohen authored "The Dark Side of the Digital Revolution" for the Wall Street Journal in 2013 and penned a 2012 article for The Washington Post, titled "Technology Can Be Harnessed to Fight Drug Cartels in Mexico," inspired by their visit to Ciudad Juárez.

Additional Involvements

Over the years, Cohen has participated as a juror in various categories at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Personal Details

He is wed to Rebecca Zubaty, and together they have three daughters.

External links

• Goldman Sachs Leadership Profile