Samara Cohen

Ms. Samara P.
Cohen is a Global Head of Market Development at BlackRock Advisors LLC and a Senior Managing Director at BlackRock Private Equity Partners.
She is on the Board of Directors at BlackRock Foundation, Inc. and Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association, Inc. She helps to shape the evolution of market structure to support investor access and product innovation.
She is a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee (GEC).
She works with stakeholders across the capital markets ecosystem, including investors, academics, market makers, trading venues and service providers.
In partnership with Global Corporate Affairs, Global Product Solutions, BlackRock Global Markets & Index Investments, and Digital Assets, she is focused on advancing market structure priorities on behalf of investors.
Previously, she was Chief Investment Officer of ETF and Index Investments and led teams delivering the market quality and investment integrity for BlackRock’s index funds and iShares ETFs.
She is a member of the GEC Investment Subcommittee and the GEC Talent Subcommittee.
She is also the GEC sponsor for BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative & Allies Network (WIN) and Co-Head of the Global Diversity Steering Committee (GDSC).
Prior to rejoining BlackRock in 2015, Ms. Cohen was a Managing Director in the Securities Division of Goldman Sachs, where she built and led the Global Market Transition team to develop and deliver solutions to clients in the evolving market structure and regulatory environment following the 2008 global financial crisis.
She first joined BlackRock in 1993 as an Analyst in the Institutional Client Business.
She earned a BS Econ in Finance from the Wharton School and a BA in Theatre Arts from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania.
She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.