Assistant Vice President Marketing
Cook Children's Health Care System
Architecting the
Culture Blueprint
THE CHALLENGE
Transform the culture of a century-old health system carrying a 12-year history of brand disconnect — and win board approval for a multimillion-dollar rebrand to do it, just as the pandemic forced the system to halt elective surgeries and the revenue they brought in.
THE OUTCOME
Won unanimous board approval for an $8M system-wide rebrand at the very moment the organization could least afford to spend — then built the culture-and-leadership framework that became the foundation for the next decade of growth.
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DEFINED COMPETITIVE
DIFFERENTIATORS
$8M
REBRAND
SECURED
100%
EXECUTIVE BUY-IN
350+
LEADERS
TRAINED
Defining the "Secret Sauce"
I inherited a 100-year-old legacy rich in excellence but lacking a unified definition. Our pediatric system was world-class — but our "secret sauce," the internal culture that made it so, had never been captured or defined. I set out to transform that intangible essence into a tangible, operationalized framework that could lead the organization into its next century.
From Intangible Values to Actionable Strategy
I spearheaded a comprehensive culture-definition initiative that went far beyond typical marketing, engaging stakeholders at every level to uncover the core beliefs that drove our success.
Deep-Dive Discovery
I distilled all that discovery into a clear, compelling brand platform, intangible culture, made tangible.
Operationalizing
the Culture
More than just a mission statement; I embedded our culture into the very machinery of the organization, aligning it with annual system goals, strategic planning, and performance management.
The Talent Engine
I developed the foundation for culturally aligned job descriptions and performance frameworks so we hired not just for skill, but for values alignment, helping reduce turnover and strengthen cohesion across our 11,000-employee system.
Strategic Growth and Resourceful Performance
While building the cultural foundation, I led the system’s most significant market expansion, navigating a conservative technical environment by "cobbling together" the best available tools to optimize and measure ROI.
High-Stakes Market Launch: I led the go-to-market strategy for a landmark medical center in a fiercely competitive commercial payor market, building community awareness against an entrenched incumbent well before the doors opened, laying the groundwork for the market-share gains that followed.
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Network Acquisition and Support: I directed the marketing for several primary-care practice acquisitions and new office launches — a feeder network that fed the medical center and expanded our reach into new, profitable territories.
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Agile Performance Measurement: With no modern martech stack and a conservative technical environment, I built measurement out of creative workarounds, deploying GA4, The Trade Desk, and Semrush to optimize our geo-targeted campaigns and localized landing pages.
The Foundation for an Enterprise Rebrand
This initiative turned our culture into our greatest strategic asset. By moving from an abstract identity to an actionable framework, we built the clarity and pride that made the system-wide rebrand possible. More than differentiating us in a competitive market, it cemented our reputation as an employer of choice — and set the stage for the enterprise leadership I'd take on in the years that followed.
