Ambassador Cobb was the U.S. ambassador to Iceland during the George H. W. Bush administration. During the Reagan administration, he served as undersecretary and assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In the 1950s he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Ambassador Cobb as chair of Florida FTAA and Gateway Florida, which had the responsibility for Florida’s international trade agenda. Ambassador Cobb created the Charles E. Cobb Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development within the U.S. Department of State that is awarded annually to the career ambassador who best leads U.S. trade policy.

Ambassador Cobb is the CEO and senior managing director of Cobb Partners, Ltd., an investment firm. Cobb was the CEO or COO of several companies and has served on their boards and other publicly-traded corporations (Arvida, Penn Central, Walt Disney, LNR Property, WCI Communities, Ameritas, Pan Am Corporation, CLC of America, and Southeast Banking) and many private corporate boards (Florida Savings, Kirkwood, Durango, Telluride, Tubac, and Observer Media Group). Cobb also serves on the Board of Trustees of University of Miami (chair), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Eisenhower Fellowships, Council of American Ambassadors, Miami Heart Research Institute, Plymouth Congregational Church, and Cobb Family Foundation. Other civic boards and memberships include The American-Scandinavian Foundation, Council of American Ambassadors, Council on Foreign Relations, Urban Land Institute, and Council for Education Change.

Cobb has received the Order of the Falcon Grand Cross Star from the Nation of Iceland (Iceland’s highest honor to a non-Icelandic citizen), The Florida Council of 100 Governor’s Award, NCCJ Silver Medallion Award, South Florida Achievement of the Decade Award, Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, United Way Tocqueville Award, Harvard Business Club of South Florida Business Statesman of the Year, Chief Executive Officer Annual Award for the Hotel and Real Estate Industry, Honorary Doctorate from Barry University, Liberty Bell Award for Florida Higher Education and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team as an alternate in the 110m high hurdles in 1960.

Ambassador Cobb has been married for 57 years to Ambassador Sue McCourt Cobb, former U.S. ambassador to Jamaica and secretary of state of Florida.