DANIEL COCHRAN

COCHRAN--Daniel C. Daniel C. Cochran died on December 1, 2019 at the age of 73. Dan was a ground-breaking pioneer for African- Americans and gay people on Wall Street, serving in senior positions at both Merrill Lynch and UBS and on the board of Prince Street Capital Management, a hedge fund. Dan is survived by his spouse, Greg Sutphin, his beloved companion of over fifty years. Dan was raised in Chicago's South Side. He attended Amherst College and was deeply involved with Amherst alumni affairs for many years. In 1974, he earned a Master of Public Affairs Degree from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. Dan started his professional career as a Foreign Service Officer, including a posting in Iran, where he learned Persian. In 1974, he joined Exxon Corporation in the Treasurer's Department. In 1989 he joined Merrill Lynch as a deputy treasurer for finance. He rose up through several positions at Merrill and in 1995 moved to Hong Kong as chief administrative officer for the Asia Pacific Region. Returning to the U.S. in 1999, he became a senior vice-president of the Corporate and Institutional Client Group. In 2010, he moved to UBS, where he served as Chief of Staff to the head of US Wealth Management. He retired in 2015. Throughout his long career, Dan was an early door-opener for both African- Americans and for gay people. At Merrill Lynch, he helped establish and nurture employee groups which allowed members of these minorities to both network and to consult with management on appropriate employee policies. Dan was also involved in major fundraising efforts for the Human Rights Campaign and for Lamba Legal. Both he and Greg loved opera. When they lived in Houston during his Exxon days, they became involved with the Houston Opera. Once in New York, they became generous donors to the Metropolitan Opera, with Dan eventually becoming a member of the Board of Trustees. And while this life of accomplishment may sound staid, Dan was anything but. He had a wicked sense of humor; an eye, ear and tongue for the outrageous; and a passion for living a full, rich, fun life. He was generous to a fault and served as mentor and friend to many people. The same passion that drove Dan Cochran to accomplish so much in his life drove him to devour life's pleasures with gusto. He lived an extraordinary life. A celebration of Dan's life will occur in coming weeks.