Biz Journal Names “23 most influential business people in Philadelphia”

Philadelphia Business Journal has offered up its list of the city’s “23 most influential business people,” the results based on an online poll taken a few months ago. No surprise: Comcast is well-represented on the list, with veep David L. Cohen and CEO Brian Roberts both making the list.

There are lots of usual suspects on the list—Johnny Doc, anyone?—but maybe most interesting is the inclusion John Fry and Amy Gutmann, the presidents of Drexel and Penn universities, respectively. Those aren’t traditionally thought of as “business positions,” but those universities have been key to remaking substantial portion of Philadelphia. So they’re not not business people, it would seem. “Penn is the largest private employer in Philadelphia and contributes to the city’s bottom line through millions in investments each year — through taxes, purchases, service to the public schools and the community, real estate development, and in attracting venture capital and other commercial activity to Philadelphia,” the paper quoted an anonymous commenter who nominated the Penn leader. “Gutmann is a stellar leader of this quintessentially Philadelphia institution.”