Profile of Gary Cohen at Speakery

In 2007, Gary started Speakery after leaving crayon where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations, finance and management functions in addition to his sales, consulting and client duties for the conversational marketing company.

Gary has a combination of left and right brain skills that have seen him in uber-traditional "suit" roles as well as very untraditional web 2.0 roles. He is interested in business, sales and marketing, social media, business process individually and how they work together. He is a firm believer in the power of consumers, community and engagement.

Gary’s experience covers accounting, strategy, consulting, technology, business development/sales, relationship management, product management, finance and general management. Gary was previously Director of GTS Master Trust Services at Citigroup where he was responsible for the P&L, strategy, product management and product development efforts. He was the co-founder and CEO of Verulend, a trade finance internet start-up; a Director at Deutsche Bank's GIS Global Sales and Marketing which he joined when Deutsche Bank acquired Bankers Trust Company. At Bankers Trust Company, Gary was Chief of Staff for Global Sales and Marketing for the Transaction Services Division after earlier roles in operations, sales and client management. Prior to banking, Gary worked in accounting firms in South Africa and New York.

His client experience includes work with major corporations including Fiat, General Motors, Hershey Foods, IBM, Lucent Technologies, NY City, Siemens, Time Warner, Bell Atlantic and Westinghouse/CBS amongst others. He has also worked with a large number of mid-sized companies and start-ups.

Gary is a published photographer and writer who enjoys working with people and sharing knowledge. He has coached numerous youth sports teams, trained corporate staffs and has taught photography. Gary earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa; an MBA with a major in Competitive Strategies from Fordham University in New York; and he is a “recovered” non-practicing CPA. Gary is a devoted father and a die-hard golfer when he is not working or with his family.He blogs about things of interest to him at www.garydcohen.com and lives with his wife, two sons and a daughter in New York City.