Cook Medical Founder William A. Cook Dies at Age 80

Business leader William A. Cook, who founded Cook Medical (Bloomington, IN) nearly 5 decades ago in the early era of angioplasty, died April 15, 2011, of congestive heart failure. He was 80 years old.

Mr. Cook started the company in 1963 working out of the spare bedroom of his apartment. He used $1,500 invested capital, with himself and his wife, Gayle, as the only employees. The business’s first products were percutaneous guidewires, catheters, and needles. Over the years, Cook Medical pioneered innovations in coronary and peripheral stenting, endovascular treatment of aortic aneurysm, and other fields of minimally invasive medicine.

Known for his philanthropy, Mr. Cook worked to restore historic buildings in southern Indiana, including more than 40 on the National Register of Historic Places. He also sponsored the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, which premiered a Broadway show in 2001.

Today, the Cook Group consists of 42 companies worldwide. In 2010 its global revenue amounted to approximately $2 billion. Mr. Cook’s son Carl Cook has been appointed chief executive officer of the business, and Steve Ferguson will continue as chairman of the board and Kem Hawkins as president.

In a letter posted on the company’s website, Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Hawkins recall Mr. Cook’s “extraordinary vision, dedication, and persistence.”

“As we move forward to carry on Bill’s vision, it is appropriate to stop and reflect on the remarkable impact he made on the lives of patients around the world, on the entire medical industry, on the doctors he inspired, and on all of us who had the incredible opportunity to know and work with him,” they write.

 

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Source:
Cook Group founder William A. Cook Dies at 80 [press release]. April 15, 2011.

 

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