Michael Cook

Michael Cook serves as a Governing Body Fellow and Barclay Fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, and is Chair of the Development Committee. He previously served as an Associate Fellow and as a member of the Principal’s Circle. His work at college has focused on institutional sustainability, development strategy, and long-term resilience.

Michael is the founder and chairman of SouthernSun Asset Management, Inc., established in January 1989. With more than four decades of experience in asset management, he has been closely involved in the firm’s long-term investment philosophy, governance, and institutional development. In 2023, following an intentional multi-year succession process, he stepped down from the roles of chief executive officer and chief investment officer, officially transferring investment leadership to his son, Phillip (joined SSAM in 2006), while continuing to serve as chairman.

Michael is also a co-founder and director of Family Business Capital (FBC). FBC was established to provide aligned, long-term capital and strategic partnership support to founder-led and family-controlled businesses and provide syndicate platform access for family offices by seeking to bridge the longstanding gap between family office direct investment and conventional private equity.

As an investor and entrepreneur, Michael has been involved in over ten early-stage businesses, not including SouthernSun or FBC, that operate in health care technology, commercial real estate development (urban renewal), immersive entertainment, technology, food and beverage, and publishing.

Michael serves on the board of directors for The University of Memphis Foundation, where he chairs the investment committee. He also serves on the dean’s advisory council of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics. He has chaired the university’s capital campaign steering committee since 2020.

Together with his wife, Jennifer Cook, he supports several educational initiatives. They are members of the Benefactors’ Council at the Dragon School, Oxford, England and helped establish the Cook Fellows Programme at Radley College, Radley, England.

The Cooks are avid champions of the arts, including New York City based theatrical production companies SeaDog Theatre and Compagnia de’ Colombari.

Michael serves on various corporate and charitable boards, including Constellation Properties, Cave Pictures Publishing, and Thriving Cities Group, a charitable organization focused on transforming communities through civic design. He also serves on the advisory board of Kinrise Real Estate, Ltd., a London-based real estate investment firm focused on urban regeneration.