George Judah Cohen (1842-1937), banker, took over the Maitland office of his father's wholesale firm David Cohen and Co. when he was just 19. Returning to Sydney with a reputation as a financial expert, he joined the board of the Commercial Banking Company in 1885. After steering the company through the financial crises of the 1890s, he became its chairman of directors in 1901. He held this position for 32 years, during the last of which the bank weathered the Depression. From the late 1880s to the early 1930s, Cohen was also chairman of many other companies, including Australian Gas Light, United Insurance, Tooth and Co. and the Sydney Exchange. He and his wife Rebecca Levy amassed a significant collection of antiques and European paintings; he was a liberal, yet low-key, supporter of various charities, and a lifelong advocate for the Jewish community.
