Rick Cotton

Richard Cotton
Richard Cotton
Born	circa 1945; Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Executive director
Years active	1969–present
Known for	Executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; former Executive Vice President and General Counsel at NBCUniversal; law clerk to Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr.

Richard Cotton has held the position of executive director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey since August 2017.

Early life and education

Born around 1945 or 1946 in Chicago's Hyde Park area, Cotton is the son of Sylvia Cotton, who established Illinois Action for Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to delivering quality child care and early education to underprivileged youth. His father, Eugene Cotton, practiced labor law. Cotton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and obtained his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Early Career

Following his graduation from Yale Law School, Cotton served as a law clerk for Judge J. Skelly Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit between 1969 and 1970. Subsequently, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. during 1970–1971.

Private Sector

Cotton dedicated 25 years to NBCUniversal, including two decades as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Additionally, he spent four years in London as President and Managing Director of CNBC Europe.

Government

His public service includes roles such as Executive Secretary to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare under Secretary Joseph A. Califano Jr., and Special Assistant for Renewable Energy to Deputy Secretary John Sawhill at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Between 2015 and 2017, Cotton acted as Special Counsellor to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for Interagency Initiatives, managing significant infrastructure projects in downstate New York like LaGuardia and JFK Airports, Moynihan Train Hall, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Javits Convention Center expansion, and the MTA’s Second Avenue Subway project. Governor Cuomo reportedly referred to him as New York’s “czar of infrastructure.”

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Cotton assumed leadership as Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in August 2017. This bi-state agency oversees critical regional transportation assets such as airports, tunnels, bridges, ports, and the World Trade Center complex.

Personal life

In 2011, Cotton married Elizabeth W. Smith, who serves as Assistant Commissioner for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

In March 2020, both Cotton and his wife were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019, prompting them to self-isolate at home. Governor Andrew Cuomo later confirmed that Cotton recovered fully without requiring hospitalization.