James Cook

James R. Cook, Jr. is Chief Financial Officer for Sealy & Company. In this role, Mr. Cook is responsible for the financial, human resource, information technology, and administrative/ operational aspects of the company and for developing and supporting those systems to allow Sealy to implement and achieve its targeted growth objectives. Additionally, James is involved in the strategic analysis, financing, and asset management of Sealy’s portfolio and provides oversight of Sealy’s private equity funds – Fund I, Fund II, Sealy III, Sealy IV, SSEP, and SIP. James also serves on the Executive and Investment Committees. Mr. Cook brings to the company a wealth of valuable experience. Prior to joining Sealy, he was CFO of Praeses Corporation where he was directly responsible for all strategic aspects of finance, accounting, human resources, and administration, as well as analyzing new projects and securing/managing Praeses’ capital base. During James’ tenure as CFO, the company experienced a 54% annual growth rate. Mr. Cook has also previously served as the Practice Development Leader of KPMG overseeing the development of core processes and methodologies for an emerging practice while developing a revenue base in the southwest area. The revenue base under his direction increased over 300% during his tenure. James received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Masters of Professional Accountancy from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has been trained as a Certified Fraud Examiner. He is currently an active member of the Louisiana Certified Public Accountant and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Cook is also actively involved in his community serving as a board member and officer in various civic organizations.