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Kevin Cohee (/ˈkoʊhiːˈ/ born October 20, 1957) is an African American multi-millionaire business executive. He is Chairman and CEO of One United Bank, the largest Black owned bank and the first Black owned internet bank in America. He has held this position since 1996.[1]
Kevin Cohee | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1957 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard Law School (JD) University of Wisconsin (MBA) |
| Occupation(s) | Chairman and CEO, OneUnited Bank |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouse | Terri Williams Cohee |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editCohee was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to African-American parents. He never met his father, and his mother passed away due to an allergic reaction to penicillin when he was six years old. Cohee was raised by his uncle, Richard Carr, a pediatric dentist in Boston.
Education
editCohee graduated from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. He also holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin; where he was a 4-year letterman in football.[2]
Career
editSalomon Brothers
editCohee obtained his M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and his J.D. degree from Harvard in 1985. He became an investment banker at Salomon Smith Barney shortly after.[3]
Military Professional Services
editIn 1989, Cohee and his colleague Terri Williams acquired Military Professional Services, Inc. (MPS), a 29-year-old company that marketed Visa and MasterCard credit cards to military personnel. Cohee built MPS into a profitable company, establishing a $40,000,000 portfolio with over 20,000 customers.
He sold Military Professional Services to First Chicago Corp in 1991.[4]
OneUnited Bank
editIn 1995, Cohee acquired majority controlling interest in Boston Bank of Commerce, one of the four unifying banks that established OneUnited Bank. He was elected Chairman and CEO the following year.[4] The bank has offices in Miami and Los Angeles.[5]
Business Ventures
editBankBlack X
editOn October 7, 2019, Cohee and COO, Terri Williams, announced BankBlack X: A nationwide plan to close the racial wealth gap. Its goal is to "Galvanize the community to share the truth about Black people and money, and make financial literacy a core value of the Black community."[6]
References
edit- ^ "Two Banks Vie Online for Black Customers". Los Angeles Times. March 12, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Bulldog Banker To build an empire, it helps to be imperious. Meet Kevin Cohee, conqueror of African-American banks. - November 11, 2002". money.cnn.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Bulldog Banker To build an empire, it helps to be imperious. Meet Kevin Cohee, conqueror of African-American banks. - November 11, 2002". money.cnn.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "Board of Directors". OneUnited Bank. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "OneUnited Bank: 'Authentically And Unapologetically Black'". WBUR Boston. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ^ "OneUnited Bank Launches BankBlack X To Address The Racial Wealth Gap". NewsOne. October 28, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.