Cook Associates Expands Talented Management Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Barnes
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com

Cook Associates Expands Talented Management Team
CHICAGO, September 23, 2008 - Chicago-based Cook Associates, Inc., a leading executive search and M&A advisory firm, expands their talented and experienced team with the addition of Sarah Barnes, Director of Marketing Communications.

John Kins, CEO of Cook Associates, comments on the recent team addition, "As a firm that deeply understands the value of attracting the best talent, Sarah Barnes fits in perfectly with our mission and vision for the company."

Sarah Barnes, Director of Marketing Communications, brings a wealth of marketing and public relations experience to Cook Associates. Sarah joins Cook Associates from Discover Financial Services where she served as a Marketing Project Manager working to launch and market new consumer protection products. During her tenure at Discover Financial Services, she helped manage direct marketing initiatives and spearheaded multiple consumer research projects. Sarah's career began in the not-for-profit sector as Director of Marketing Communications for Midwest Young Artists (MYA), a music school for talented young musicians. Sarah is currently on faculty at the Loyola University Chicago Undergraduate School of Business, where she teaches marketing, and has guest lectured at the DePaul University Graduate School of Public Relations and Advertising and at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana American Marketing Association. In addition, Sarah serves on the Board of Directors for International Chamber Artists (ICA), a not-for-profit professional chamber music ensemble located in Chicago, IL. She received her M.B.A. in Marketing from Loyola University Chicago.

About Cook Associates
Cook Associates, Inc. (file:///C:/Users/Admin2/Desktop/_really_really_temp/CookAssociates/scrape%208-27-2009/index.html 312/329-0900; 212 West Kinzie Street, Chicago, IL) is a retained Executive Search and M&A Advisory Services firm. Our core business is creating value at the intersection where talent and opportunity connect, and we are uniquely positioned to help our clients capitalize on the brightest talent and best performing companies in the marketplace. Out client base ranges from multinational corporations to early stage entrepreneurial companies, private equity and venue capital firms. Brand name clients include American Express, The Blackstone Group, Dover Corporation, GTCR, Heinz, Juniper Networking, Levis Strauss & Co., Pitney Bowes, and Sirius Satellite Radio. For Additional Information, please, visit www.CookAssociates.com.