Matt Cook

CEO • Children's Hospital Association

Matthew Cook is CEO of Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), representing over 200 children’s hospitals as the leading national advocates for children’s health.

Cook is an established health care industry executive with decades of unparalleled leadership which includes leadership roles at children’s hospitals and maternal health programs. Cook also previously served as a member of CHA’s Board of Trustees and Public Policy Committees.

Prior to joining CHA, Cook served as president of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and senior vice president of Children’s Services at UCSF Health. He oversaw strategic direction, operations and clinical services for all pediatric services in Oakland and San Francisco and served on the UCSF Health leadership team.

As leader of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, the largest provider of children’s health care in Northern California, Cook worked to ensure that children had access to health care regardless of their ability to pay. Additionally, Cook advanced BCH’s ability to provide pediatric mental health care to patients, including investments in telehealth and an active plan to build the first Bay Area inpatient mental health service specifically designed for children and adolescents.

Cook previously served as president of Riley Children’s Health and chief strategy officer for Indiana University (IU) Health, the state’s largest health system. He provided strategic direction and leadership for pediatric services throughout IU Health, with a particular focus on improving access to care for expectant mothers and reducing infant mortality.

Cook previously was executive vice president of strategic planning and business development at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and spent nine years as a principal at the Chartis Group, a health care consulting firm based in Chicago.

Cook earned a Master of Business Administration from New York University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Cook and his husband will be relocating to the Washington, D.C. area.