01-08-2026
Dan Peterson loved science and the idea of helping people, so he went to medical school. He was wrapped up in the “emotional piece of being able to help people” — too wrapped up, he realized. Knowing himself well and that he’d lose sleep worrying about patients’ problems, he earned his MBA and moved into the world of medical device manufacturing. He built a solid career at Cook Medical, where he is now Vice President of Industry and Government Affairs.
Cook Medical began in the early 1960s, helping physicians advance “a new technology called minimally invasive medicine” that used guidewires, catheters, and needles to reach “all parts of the body in a minimally invasive way.” Peterson notes that this shift helped move care away from exploratory surgery toward procedures that diagnose and treat without “opening you up,” allowing patients to heal faster and leave the hospital sooner.
That innovation culture sits inside a broader Indiana story. “It’s not as well-known as it should be that Indiana is an unbelievable powerhouse in all life sciences,” Peterson told students at the Daniels School’s Executive Forum. “Indiana is the number one exporting life sciences state in the country” — more than California, Minnesota, New Jersey, Massachusetts or North Carolina — driven by three major clusters: Lilly and pharmaceuticals in Indianapolis, orthopedic device manufacturing centered in Warsaw and Cook Medical in Bloomington.
Peterson’s own path reflects how talent development feeds this ecosystem. A Fort Wayne native who “loved science” and initially went to medical school, he realized he did not want to be a practicing clinician and returned to graduate school. A part-time marketing role at Cook Medical during business school turned into a 37-year career spanning product, policy and workforce initiatives across the company’s global medical device manufacturing operations.
Today, Peterson’s team works on public policy, economic development and workforce pipelines to ensure Indiana’s life sciences powerhouse keeps pace with emerging technologies and regulatory change. From partnerships with Purdue and Ivy Tech to engagement in statewide workforce boards, Cook Medical and Indiana’s broader life sciences community are aligning education, innovation and manufacturing to sustain the state’s leadership in a rapidly evolving medical industry.
View and listen to Peterson’s Executive Forum class:
The Daniels School’s Executive Forum is held in person on the West Lafayette campus and is open to the public, as seating permits. Follow the business school on LinkedIn to learn about upcoming Forum speakers and more.
