Cook was appointed as CEO of the West Coast Eagles in 1990 and during his nine years at the Eagles, the club quadrupled its membership, dramatically increased revenue and became the first non-Victorian club to win the AFL premiership in 1992 and again in winning the 1994 premiership. Both successes were achieved against Geelong.[5][6] Cook during his tenure as CEO of the Eagles also provided strong support to West Coast Eagles senior coach Mick Malthouse as one of the factor's for the Eagles on-field performance success in reaching finals in every year.[7] At the end of the 1998 season, Cook quit his position as CEO of the West Coast Eagles.[8] Cook was then replaced by Trevor Nisbett as CEO of the West Coast Eagles.
Geelong Football Club
Cook was then appointed as CEO of the Geelong Football Club in 1999.[9] At the end of the 1999 season, Cook informed then-Geelong Football Club senior coach Gary Ayres that the club would not grant him a contract extension beyond the 2000 season by stating “We are in a world of pain financially, things aren’t travelling all that well … we are not really in a position to extend any contracts”.[10] Cook then later oversaw a complete overhaul of the once-struggling club's finances in his tenure, as well as being a key supporter of former senior coach Mark Thompson along with club president Frank Costa.[11] Cook also oversaw Geelong's three AFLpremiership victories in 2007, 2009 and 2011.[12]
Cook also oversaw an era for the Geelong Football Club that experienced finals football in 16 of their last 18 seasons as well as 13 top four finishes between 2004 and 2021, including the three premierships during that time. That on-field success has been mirrored by performance off the field, with Cook leading a four-stage redevelopment of GMHBA Stadium also known as Kardinia Park, while also ballooning the Cats’ turnover from $16 to $60 million during his tenure.[13]
Cook has been suggested as a potential future Australian Football League CEO[14] and was also suggested as a possible CEO for the new expansion teams, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.[15]
At the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season, Cook left his position as CEO of the Geelong Football Club after 23 years, and was replaced by Steve Hocking.[16]
^Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2002). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 123. ISBN1-74095-001-1.
^Everett, Les (13 February 2009). "Never on a Sunday". australianrules.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2009.