Gayle Cook

{{short description|American business executive|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Gayle Cook

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Gayle Karch

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1934|03|01}}

| birth_place = Evansville, Indiana, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| other_names =

| known_for =

| occupation =

| education = Indiana University

| spouse = {{marriage|William Cook|1957|2011|end=his death}}

| children = Carl Cook

}}

Gayle Cook (née Karch, born March 1, 1934) is an American businesswoman who in 1963 co-founded the Cook Group, a medical equipment manufacturing company, with her husband William Cook.Kathleen McLaughlin, [http://www.ibj.com/articles/29688-gayle-cook-tops-list-of-richest-hoosiers Gayle Cook tops list of richest Hoosiers], Indiana Business Journal, September 22, 2011{{Cite journal|first=|date=October 7, 2013|title=240 Gayle Cook|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/gayle-cook/?sh=7af0fd7bf083|format=paper|department=The Forbes 400|journal=Forbes|volume=|page=161|via=}} In 2014, her net worth was estimated at US$5.8 billion.{{cite web |title=Forbes profile: Gayle Cook |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/gayle-cook/ |website=Forbes |date=3 March 2014 |access-date=17 October 2021}}

Early life

Gayle Karch{{Cite news|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=April 25, 2021|title=Bill Cook, Medical Device Maker, Dies at 80|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/business/26cook.html|access-date=October 17, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} was born on March 1, 1934, in Evansville, Indiana, the daughter of Arthur and Thelma Karch.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNSd4CuhZpIC&dq=Gayle+Cook+born+1934&pg=PA37|isbn = 9780253352545|title = The Bill Cook Story: Ready, Fire, Aim!|year = 2008|publisher = Indiana University Press}} She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Indiana University in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts.{{cite web|title=Honoree: Search Awards: University Honors & Awards: Indiana University|url=https://honorsandawards.iu.edu/awards/honoree/364.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=October 17, 2021|website=University Honors and Awards}}

Career

In 1963, she and her husband William Cook co-founded the Cook Group, a medical equipment manufacturer.{{cite web|title=Gayle Cook|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/fkem45edj/gayle-cook/|website=Forbes|accessdate=21 December 2014}}[http://www.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=2897 Preservationist Gayle Cook to discuss 'The Mystique of Domes'], Indiana State University Newsroom, October 17, 2011 {{As of|2013}}, she still served on the company's board of directors.

According to Forbes, she had a net worth of $5.8 billion in 2014, up from $5.2 billion in 2013, placing her at #85 on the Forbes 400 for the year.

Philanthropy

Cook has made charitable contributions to her alma mater, Indiana University, and serves on the board of the Indiana University Foundation. She received the Gertrude Rich Award in 1983 an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1993, both from Indiana University.

She and her husband have funded the restoration of many historic buildings, mainly in southern Indiana, including 40 that appear on the National Register of Historic Places. She is a co-founder of the Monroe County Historical Society Museum, a member of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, and a Landmark member of The Nature Conservancy.

Personal life

Gayle Cook was married to William Cook from 1957 until his death in 2011.Schuyler Volasco, [http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2013/0305/Forbes-billionaires-list-Meet-the-nine-richest-self-made-women/Gayle-Cook Forbes billionaires list: Meet the nine richest self-made women], Christian Science Monitor, March 5, 2013 Their son, Carl Cook, succeeded William as CEO upon the latter's death.{{Cite web|last=Zaltsberg|first=Bob|date=August 6, 2016|title=Carl Cook inherited his father's company — and his vision|url=https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/2016/08/07/carl-cook-inherited-his-fathers-company-and-his-visio/118492988/|access-date=October 17, 2021|website=The Herald-Times|language=en-US}} She also has a granddaughter. She has coauthored two books on local landmarks, A Guide to Southern Indiana (1972, with William Cook) and Monroe County in Focus (1990, with Diana Hawes and Will Counts).

Bibliography

  • A Guide to Southern Indiana (with William Cook, Owen Litho Service, 1972).
  • Monroe County in Focus: Portrait of an Indiana County (with Diana Hawes and Will Counts, Discovery Press, 1990).

References