Cook's Pest Control Announces Key Leadership Changes

DECATUR, AL - Cook’s Pest Control recently announced several key changes in leadership of the company:
• Brian Cook has been named president and CEO;
• Joey Harris has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer; and
• Arthur Orr has been named executive vice president and chief administrative officer.

Brian Cook, the 4th generation of the Cook family to work at Cook’s Pest Control, has served as the company’s chief administrative officer (CAO) since 2014. In the same year, Cook assumed leadership of the development and construction of the new Cook Museum of Natural Science. He serves as the museum’s president and chairman of the board. Through the years, Cook has served Cook’s Pest Control in a variety of service, sales, and management roles including customer care manager and director of business development. He earned his undergraduate degree at Samford University and his MBA from the University of Alabama.

“I think everyone knows that Brian, as a family member, has the DNA of Cook’s Pest Control ingrained in him,” said John Cook Jr., chairman of the board. “He has grown up in the business and spent a lot of his formative years in a close relationship with his grandfather and grandmother (John R. Cook Sr. and Jo Cook). He learned a lot from them even at an early age.”

Joey Harris is a 33-year veteran of Cook’s Pest Control. Harris has served the company in a variety of roles including sales director; vice president, sales and service; and most recently chief operating officer. Harris is a board certified entomologist, recognized by the Entomological Society of American since 1985. In addition, he has served as a committee chairman and a board member of the National Pest Management Association and multiple terms as president of the Alabama Pest Control Association. He was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Agriculture and Industries Board for the State of Alabama. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis where he earned degrees in entomology and education.

Arthur Orr is a 16-year veteran of Cook’s Pest Control where he has been serving as vice president and general counsel. He has also served as an Alabama State Senator for District 3 since his election in 2006, and will continue to do so. He will also run for re-election next year. He attended Wake Forest University, followed by law school at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Upon graduation, he joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to a primitive area of Nepal. When he returned to Alabama, he joined a respected law firm in Decatur, yet felt led to continue working overseas to help others. Habitat for Humanity International hired him to establish a new program in Bangladesh. In his new role as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Cook’s, Orr will assume oversight of all of the company’s administrative duties including the areas of Accounting, Human Resources, Property, Marketing and Advertising, as well as handling all legal matters.

Jim Aycock, who has served as president and CEO since 1995, will move to the position of vice chairman of the board. Hebegan his career with Cook’s as Controller in 1972.

“I believe all of these changes will benefit the growth and stability of Cook’s for years to come,” said John Cook Jr. “God has blessed our company to have such good and talented people to come alongside us in our mission here at Cook’s.”

Headquartered in Decatur, Alabama, Cook’s Pest Control serves over 330,000 residential and commercial customers. Founded in 1928, Cook’s Pest Control has grown to 36 offices in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee with over 1,750 employees. Pest Control Technology magazine recently ranked Cook’s as the seventh largest pest control company in the nation.

Learn more about Cook’s Pest Control at cookspest.com.