Brad Cook Moves From Lobo Equipment Manager to COO of Presbyterian Medical Group

Brad Cook, who now serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Presbyterian Medical Group, began his professional life managing the equipment for the University of New Mexico football team. That early role, secured through a full-ride scholarship as a student, provided him with his first practical experience in supervising staff and organizing work.

Cook’s entry into the healthcare industry was accidental rather than planned. While attending the James & Gail Ellis School of Business Leadership, he took a part-time position at Saint Joseph Medical Center to manage accounts receivable. He did not initially view the role as a career move, but it introduced him to the financial mechanics of hospital operations.

After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2002, Cook joined Presbyterian two years later in a managerial capacity. Over the following 22 years, he remained with the organization, eventually spending 16 years in finance before transitioning to operations. His career path took him from financial analysis to leading the day-to-day functions of a major nonprofit healthcare system in Albuquerque.

The shift from finance to operations occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when Cook acknowledged he lacked the clinical depth of some of his colleagues. He addressed this gap by focusing on organizational skills, specifically the ability to simplify complex processes and extract the best performance from his teams.

Cook’s leadership approach emphasizes systemic changes over isolated solutions. He argues that effective management requires redesigning workflows so that specific problems are less likely to recur. His goal is to build durable structures and leadership teams that do not depend on any single individual, including himself.

He returned to UNM in 2015 to complete his Master of Business Administration, more than a decade after his undergraduate studies. Cook said the graduate program taught him how to prioritize, think strategically, and work collaboratively, skills he considers as valuable as technical knowledge in accounting.

Looking forward, Cook identifies digital health and telehealth as areas with high potential for expanding access and reducing administrative burdens. He advises students entering the field to seek environments where they can learn across disciplines, from technology to human resources, while maintaining a focus on patient privacy and safety.