Posted on Tue, Dec 22, 2009
Cook Associates Partners with a Leadership Development Consulting Firm
Chicago, IL, December 2009 - Cook Associates Executive Search firm, is proud to announce a new array of solutions for the challenges faced by senior executives. Partnering with a premier Leadership Development consulting firm, Cook Associates will offer a wide range of solutions including: Executive Development, Corporate Board Training, Cultural Assessment and HR Consulting.
"We are certain that our alliance with one of the premier Organizational and Leadership Development firms in the country will provide our executive search clients with a fully integrated set of Human Resources support services and elevate our common objectives to a higher level of excellence," said John Kins, CEO of Cook Associates, Inc.
In addition to Cook's long history of excellence in the Executive Search industry, this partnership allows Cook to introduce HR and CEO clientele to a comprehensive set of services - executive assessment, coaching, peer-to-peer advisory services, on-boarding, director preparation, board evaluation and development, cultural assessment, candidate evaluation and succession planning all delivered with the level of expertise and professionalism Cook clients have come to know and respect.
Posted on Tue, Dec 22, 2009
December 2009
Dr. Lombardo's book A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness encapsulates what it means to bring happiness to yourself by a simple, yet profound, alphabet of ideas. I remember a poster on the wall of my Mother's office that read "It's not the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the grain of sand in your shoe." This book is certainly the Rx to help anyone take out the sand. This enlightening book should be a gift for anyone wanting to find their own best happiness. Well said and well done, Dr. Lombardo - the examples in this book are inspirational."
- Mary E. Kier, Vice Chairman, Cook Associates, Inc.
Other endorsers include: Kimberly Rose, Wall Street Journal; Jack Canfield, Co-Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul; Shaquille O'Neal, Four Times NBA Champion; Gerry Sandusky, Two-time Emmy winner.
Posted on Wed, Dec 09, 2009
Sue Denison was recently called upon by Advertising Age to discuss the current Executive Search climate.
"We're getting more phone calls and queries from potential client companies thinking about doing a search," said Susan Denison, Managing Director at Cook Associates. "The bulk of activity is in revenue-generating positions: heads of ad sales, chief revenue officer, head of business development."
Click here to read the entire article: Ad Age Article
Posted on Fri, Sep 25, 2009
MediaContact:
RuzannaTantushyan
Associate,Marketing Communications
312.755.5636 Office
rtantushyan@cookassociates.com
SarahBarnes
Director, Marketing Communications
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com
Kevin Logterman Joins Cook Associates as Managing Director
Chicago, September 28, 2009 – Cook AssociatesExecutive Search announces the expansion of its talented and experienced team with the addition of Kevin Logterman as Managing Director of Industrial, Business Services and Education practice areas. He has joined the firm’s Chicago office.
John Kins, Chairman and CEO of Cook Associates said, "Kevin is an outstanding addition to our team, a client advocate and a highly-regarded member of the industrial, business services and education community nationwide. Kevin's arrival will enhance the value we provide to our clients."
Kevin joins Cook Associates with over 11 years of search experience, most of which were with The Furst Search Group, a regional search firm focused on senior management searches for industrial and business services clients. While at Furst, Kevin successfully completed over 180 searches and led the firm's marketing and business development efforts, including the creation of an annual Board of Directors' Survey sponsored by Midwest CEO organization. Clients include family-owned and private equity portfolio companies, as well as the Fortune 1000.
Kevin has developed a strong understanding of the competitive challenges facing businesses today and how the appropriate talent at the executive level can impact an organization. Kevin has an extensive network of contacts and relationships throughout the country.
Prior to his search career, Kevin held management positions in both manufacturing and banking. Kevin received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin.
About Cook Associates
Cook Associates, Inc. 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 uniquelypositioned 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 venture capital firms. Brand name clients include American Express, The Blackstone Group, Dover Corporation, GTCR, Heinz, Juniper Networking, Levi Strauss & Co., Pitney Bowes, and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
Posted on Tue, Sep 01, 2009
Chicago, September 1, 2009 – Cook Associates, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of a new and much anticipated website redesign at www.cookassociates.com.
The site redesign is part of Cook Associates’ mission to continuously meet the needs of its clients by providing improved navigation, better organization of content, and an interactive platform.
The improved website contains the following new features:
- An enhanced navigation structure of content that is categorized based on two individual yet strategically integrated arms of the company: Cook Executive Search and Cook M&A Advisory Services.
- A website menu that gives clients and web visitors a clearer indication of pages that exist on the site.
- An online newsroom that will give Cook’s constituency and the media up-to-date information about company events and news announcements.
- A separate Thought Leadership section will serve to provide insights of developments in the executive search industry at large.
- A Cook Executive Search blog that contains interesting and thought-provoking articles concerning the executive search industry.
The website redesign is the first of other upcoming strategies Cook Associates, Inc. has incorporated into its integrated marketing / communication campaign.
“Regardless of size and industry, companies are expected to have sites that have excellent usability for their clients, while incorporating the newest technology, like blogs and podcasts. The new Cook site does just that and we are very excited to see it launch and continue evolving to meet client needs,” stated Sarah Barnes, Marketing and Communications Director for Cook Associates.
The new site was designed in partnership with Avant Design.
Posted on Sat, Jun 06, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Barnes
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com
Cook Associates Announces New Addition
to M&A Advisory Services division
Chicago, June 2009 The M&A Advisory Services division at Chicago-based Cook Associates, Inc., is excited to announce the expansion of its talented and experienced team with the addition of Neil Midler, Managing Director.
Arnis Kins, President of Cook Associates, comments on the recent team addition, Neil is a tremendous asset to our team. His skill-set and experience will lend new perspectives to our process and allow us to build out our suite of products as we aim to grow our service offering to private equity. Additionally, Neil has worked under a few different models, which will be an advantage as we continue to scale.
Over the past seven years, Mr. Midler has worked with many of the nation's leading private equity firms sourcing proprietary investment opportunities, developing acquisition search strategies, and successfully managing targeted search programs. He has led search efforts for both new platforms and add-on companies in a diverse group of industries including business services, technology, consumer products, healthcare and financial services.
Prior to Cook Associates, Mr. Midler executed acquisition search strategies for leading financial and corporate buyers of middle-market businesses. He began his career as a management consultant with Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). Mr. Midler received a B.S. degree in Finance from Arizona State University and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurship.
About Cook Associates
Cook Associates, Inc. (www.CookAssociates.com 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, Levi Strauss & Co., Pitney Bowes, and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. For Additional Information, please visit www.CookAssociates.com.
Posted on Tue, May 05, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Barnes
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com
Cook Associates' Jeff Leopold to Moderate
Venture Summit East Panel Discussion
Chicago, May 2009 - Cook Associates Executive Search (www.cookassociates.com/es) is excited to announce that Jeff Leopold, Managing Director, will participate in Venture Summit East, a two-day gathering to be held on May 21 and 22 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston, MA. The summit highlights the significant economic, political and technology trends impacting the global growth investor
Venture Summit East: Where the Big Money Meets the Big Idea, will feature the most influential institutional investors, venture capitalists, corporate buyers, investment bankers and research analysts in keynote presentations and panel debates.
Leopold will be leading a panel discussion titled: Applying Wisdom from the Last Downturn to the Recession of 2009 on Friday, May 22 from 10:15am to 11:15am.
Session panelists will include Ralph Breslauer, CEO at Vertica, Mark Cattini, President at Pitney Bowes Marketing Services (formerly CEO, MapInfo), Jaime Ellertson, CEO at Gomez, Gary Greenfield, CEO at Avid, Steve Papa, CEO at Endeca, and Alan Trefler, CEO at Pegasystems.
For the last twenty years, Leopold's career has been focused on the technology, business services, and professional services industries. Leopold has built extensive expertise and developed a strong reputation for understanding the needs of clients in the high-tech community. As a result, he has helped numerous clients - ranging from early-stage to well-established companies - build and restructure teams to meet continuous competitive challenges.
Detailed information can be found online at Venture Summit East.
About Cook Associates
Cook Associates, Inc. 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. Our client base ranges from multinational corporations to early stage entrepreneurial companies, private equity and venture capital firms. Brand name clients include American Express, Apple, The Blackstone Group, Dover Corporation, GTCR, Heinz, Juniper Networks, Levi Strauss & Co., Pitney Bowes, and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. For additional information, please visit www.CookAssociates.com.
Posted on Fri, May 01, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Barnes
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com
Cook 2009 Executive Recruiter News Panel
Calls on Executives to Pass the Stress Test
Chicago, May 2009 - "Companies going through extreme turmoil or market pressures need to adjust. This calls for identifying and assessing proven stress-tested CEOs and other senior executives who can manage their companies through the downturn to sustained success," was one of many poignant statements made by John Barrett, moderator for the Cook Associates' Executive Recruiter News (ERN) panel entitled Antidote for a Down Economy: Stress-Tested Executives, held on Tuesday, May 5, at the Union League Club in Chicago.
The panel discussion, led by John Barrett, a Managing Director within the firm's Executive Search division, emphasized the importance of identifying top executives most skilled at guiding companies through turbulent economies.
As the economy places hardships on companies and investors, HR executives are looking for experienced stress-tested executive leadership.
"Whether it is a severe market contraction, changing technology, product recall or media scrutiny, CEOs and senior executives who can effectively demonstrate their success in navigating their company or division through turbulent times will be well sought after by Boards, human resource executives and search firms," stated Mark Duffy, former President of Griffith Laboratories USA.
The panel discussion included Steve Barnhart, former CEO of Orbitz, Paul Barrett, Vice President of Sales & Customer Service for Lagasse, Inc., Mark Duffy who most recently served as the President of Griffith Laboratories USA, and Mike Linn, CEO of CleanBrands.
About Cook Associates
Cook Associates, Inc. (http://www.cookassociates.com/ 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.
Posted on Tue, Apr 07, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Barnes
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com
Cook Associates' John Barrett to Moderate ERN Panel at
2009 Executive Recruiting Summit
Chicago, April 2009 - Cook Associates Executive Search (http://www.cookassociates.com/) is excited to announce that John Barrett, Managing Director within the firm's Executive Search division, will be moderating the Antidote for a Down Economy: Stress-Tested Executives panel at the 2009 Executive Search Summit at 11:10 a.m. CST on Tuesday, May 5th at the Union League Club (65 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago).
The summit is part of the Executive Recruiting News (ERN) initiative to find Solutions for Today's Market Pressures.
The Stress-Tested Executives panel discussion will include panelists Steve Barnhart, former CEO of Orbitz, Paul Barrett, Vice President of Sales & Customer Service for Lagasse, Inc., Mark Duffy who most recently served as the President of Griffith Laboratories USA, and Mike Linn, CEO of CleanBrands. Together with moderator John Barrett, they will discuss the importance of identifying top executives most skilled at guiding companies through turbulent economies. John Barrett has a proven track record of advising and attracting top talent for his clients. Barrett has expertise in technology, online media, transaction processing, marketing services, consumer, and business services industries. Barrett's clients include private equity and venture-backed portfolio companies as well as the Fortune 1000.
More information about the 2009 Executive Search Summit agenda and speakers can be found here Cook ERN Panel.
About Cook Associates
Cook Associates, Inc. (http://www.cookassociates.com/ 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 http://www.cookassociates.com/.
Posted on Thu, Feb 05, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sarah Barnes
312.755.5619 Office: 847.721.3680 Mobile
sbarnes@cookassociates.com
Cook M&A Leads JMH Capital Acquisition
Chicago, January 2009 - Chicago-based Cook Associates M&A Advisory Services (Cook M&A; www.cookassociates.com) announces the acquisition of Walker Wood Products, a kitchencabinet maker, by JMH Capital. Cook M&A facilitated the transaction, introducing JMH Capital to the California-based company.
Under the leadership of Victor Lukic, the Walker Wood Products company will take on the new name of Luxe Cabinetry, LLC, and will focus on identifying additional sales channels and expanding business nationwide and into Canada.
Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, JMH Capital purchased Walker Wood Products from General Electric Co.'s GE Capital Solutions and Comerica Bank.
The Cook M&A team leading this transaction included Arnis Kins, Sven Kins, and Sal Piscopo
About Cook Associates M&A Advisory Services
Cook Associates M&A Advisory Services partners exclusively with private equity groups (PEG) to streamline the acquisition process and execute investment strategies to close more deals more quickly. Our focus is on creating value for private equity groups by serving as a true intermediary to manage and facilitate the entire acquisition process, from first contact to deal closing. Cook M&A has closed more than 60 M&A transactions ranging in size from $50 million to $800 million. Founded in 1990, Cook Associates M&A Advisory Services is recognized as one of the leading buy-side M&A firms in the industry. For additional information, please visit http://www.cookassociates.com/.