 He is a member of the Lytton family (Earls of Lytton) through his mother, Hermione Cobbold (née Bulwer-Lytton).In keeping with family tradition, Cobbold was educated at Eton College and Cambridge University (Trinity College).David Cobbold was an executive in the International Banking Department of Bank of London and South America (BOLSA) in the late 1960s, under Edward Clifton-Brown.