Babson Center Welcomes Cook Lecture, Oct. 21
Halsey Cook, Jr., C’85, president and CEO of Milliken & Company, will be the Babson Center’s Graham Executive-in-Residence for the 2021 Advent semester. Asserting Milliken’s purpose of positively impacting the world around us, Cook will illuminate how and why he is focused on innovation and collaboration to deliver sustainable solutions to our global community.
While on campus, Cook will meet with students and faculty. He will deliver a campus presentation titled, “Why and How: Ethics, Innovation, and the Environment,” at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Torian Room at duPont Library, co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Chemistry. All are welcome.
With 30-years of experience in global business with manufacturing, technology, and distribution networks, Cook has taken a values-based approach to leadership at Milliken. Milliken, founded in 1865 with over 7,000 current employees, is a materials science and manufacturing company in the chemical, flooring, textile, and healthcare industries. Recently, Milliken was named to the World’s Most Ethical Companies list by Ethisphere Institute for 15 straight years. From redesigning more sustainable plastic packaging for Ferrero-Rocher chocolates, donating hospital gowns to a Singapore customer, to creating sustainable carpeting inspired by whales’ songs, Milliken has proven that it can be profitable while being socially and environmentally responsible. Their sustainability goals for 2025 include reducing their environmental footprint, solving the plastic end-of-life challenge, and caring for all the people who are a part of their communities including volunteering and supporting inclusion and diversity.
Prior to his work at Milliken, Cook was the president of Sonepar, a global distributor of electrical products and related solutions, in Charleston, South Carolina, and president of United Technologies and Legrand North America, a manufacturer of electrical and digital building infrastructure. During his time at Legrand, Cook sponsored internships for Sewanee students and paid semester internships for Carey Fellows at the Babson Center.
At Sewanee, Cook played on the lacrosse team, served on the Discipline Committee, and graduated with a double major in English and Economics. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Currently, he is a trustee on the Belle W. Baruch Foundation in South Carolina and on the board of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. He is also a director of Southwire Company, global manufacturer of wire, cable, and tools located in Carrollton, Georgia.
The Graham Executive in Residence program was established by Diane and Henry H. Graham Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla. The Graham residencies bring distinguished business leaders to the Sewanee campus to offer insight into business leadership issues and have career meetings with students. For more information about the Babson Center for Global Commerce and our events, please visit https://new.sewanee.edu/academ...