John Cook is a Senior Partner in the Chicago Office of McKinsey & Company. Mr. Cook has spent 24 years with the Firm, having completed consulting assignments across five continents. He has led McKinsey’s Food Industry Practice and the Firm’s Global Corporate Strategy Practice. Mr. Cook has led high-impact projects across a wide range of clients in a variety of industries including consumer packaged goods, retailing, media, printing and industrial businesses. He has played a significant role in helping clients with corporate direction, organizational design, and identifying, valuing, and integrating mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Cook also has held several line management positions. Early in his career he was in line marketing with Gillette and Procter & Gamble. More recently, he assumed the No. 2 position at a global food company competing in 160 countries for several years. While there, Mr. Cook played an instrumental role in turning around the company’s core business; acquired and integrated four high-growth strategic acquisitions; strengthened the company’s relationship with its major customers; and created a new innovation pipeline for the company’s R&D efforts. He led the creation of three new divisions that grew the Company’s top line by 30%, built a highly talented management team across the company, and doubled the company’s stock price.

Mr. Cook was a Baker Scholar at the Harvard Business School, where he was given the Brown Award as the top marketing graduate. Prior to Harvard, he received dual degrees – with high distinction in business administration and with honors in economics – from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Cook has spoken to a broad range of audiences on a variety of issues such as the global environment and how it is impacting consumer industries.