Gary Cohen is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Maternal Newborn Health Innovations (MNHI), a public benefit corporation (B-corp) focused on reducing maternal and newborn mortality. MNHI is expected to commercialize its first medical device in early 2023, the Odon Device™, designed to assist delivery of newborns in circumstances of prolonged, troublesome labor during the second stage of childbirth. Approximately 25% of newborn mortality, 50% of stillbirths and 15% of maternal mortality occur during the second stage.
Prior to co-founding MNHI, Gary served as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of AeroFarms, an award-winning indoor vertical farming technology company and B-corp on a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity. Gary continues to serve on AeroFarms Board of Advisers.
Prior to joining AeroFarms, Gary served as Executive Vice President (EVP), Global Health and President of the BD Foundation at BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology company. In this role, he and BD engaged in extensive collaboration with international agencies, governments and non-government organizations to address unmet health needs worldwide. Prior to this position, he served in BD as EVP of International Operations, and EVP/President of the Medical Segment, where he had responsibility for approximately half of the company’s global operations.
Gary is a recognized expert and leader in utilizing the capabilities of the business sector to advance progress on challenging social problems. He has served as an expert speaker and advocate in venues including the United Nations, Vatican, World Bank, World Health Assembly, U.S. Department of State, and World Economic Forum-Davos. He presently serves as chair of the Corporate/CDC Roundtable on Global Health Threats, board co-chair of GBCHealth, and board director of UNICEF USA and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.
He previously served on the UN Commission on Life Saving Commodities for Women and Children and as board director and chair of the CDC Foundation.
Gary is also a social entrepreneur. In 2009 he founded Together for Girls, a global partnership of national governments, UN agencies and private sector organizations dedicated to stopping violence against children, particularly sexual violence against girls, and he continues to serve as board chair of this nonprofit organization. In 2017 he founded the Antimicrobial Resistance Fighter Coalition, presently comprised of a diverse community of stakeholders from over 50 countries dedicated to combating the global threat of antimicrobial resistance.
In 2018 he founded the Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation at Rutgers Business School, to educate business leaders on how to embed social impact and ESG principles into their business strategies and priorities.
Gary holds B.A. and an M.B.A. degrees from Rutgers University and previously served on the University’s board of trustees. In 2016, he was named a Rutgers 250 Fellow in association with the university’s 250th anniversary. He has been honored for his humanitarian work by numerous other organizations.