Tim Cook

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Tim Cook

Cook in January 2009 after the Macworld Expo
Born Timothy Donald Cook
(1960-11-01) November 1, 1960
Robertsdale, Alabama, U.S.
Alma mater Auburn University (B.S.)
Duke University (M.B.A.)
Occupation CEO, Apple
Net worth Increase$400 million (est.)
Board member of
Apple
Nike (2005—present)
Signature

Timothy Donald "Tim" Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive, and is the CEO of Apple Inc.[1] Cook joined Apple in March 1998[2] as SVP of Worldwide Operations and also served as EVP of Worldwide Sales and Operations and was COO until he was named the CEO of Apple on August 24, 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs.[3] Cook had previously served as acting CEO of Apple after Jobs began medical leave in January 2011.[4]

In early 2012, he was awarded compensation of 1 million shares, vesting in 2016 and 2021, by Apple's Board of Directors.[5] As of 2012, Cook's total compensation package of US$378 million makes him the highest paid CEO in the world.[6]

Early years

Cook grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, near Mobile. His father was a shipyard worker, while his mother was a homemaker. Cook graduated from high school at Robertsdale High School, earned a B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982,[7] and his M.B.A. from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1988.[8]

Career

Before Apple

Cook served as chief operating officer (COO) of the computer reseller division of Intelligent Electronics. He also spent 12 years in IBM's personal computer business as the director of North American Fulfillment.[2] Cook was VP for Corporate Materials at Compaq for six months.[9]

Apple

Cook was asked by Steve Jobs to join Apple in 1998. In a commencement speech at his alma mater Auburn University, Cook said he decided to join Apple after meeting Jobs for the first time:

Any purely rational consideration of cost and benefits lined up in Compaq's favor, and the people who knew me best advised me to stay at Compaq...On that day in early 1998 I listened to my intuition, not the left side of my brain or for that matter even the people who knew me best....no more than five minutes into my initial interview with Steve, I wanted to throw caution and logic to the wind and join Apple. My intuition already knew that joining Apple was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for the creative genius, and to be on the executive team that could resurrect a great American company.[10]

His first assignment was Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations.[2] Cook has been quoted as saying "You kind of want to manage it like you're in the dairy business. If it gets past its freshness date, you have a problem".[11] Cook closed factories and warehouses, replacing them with contract manufacturers, causing the company's inventory to fall from months to days. This was key to Apple's recovery: predicting demand and delivering product on time is crucial in the technology industry where new products could cannibalize existing offerings, yet Apple "routinely pulls off the miraculous: unveiling revolutionary products that have been kept completely secret until they magically appear in stores all over the world". Cook was credited with keeping costs under control, and combined with the company's design and marketing savvy that allows them to charge premiums, this has generated huge profits.[12]

In January 2007, Cook was promoted to COO.[13]

Cook served as Apple CEO for two months in 2004, when Jobs was recovering from surgery for pancreatic cancer. In 2009, Cook again served as Apple CEO for several months while Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant.

In January 2011, Apple's Board of Directors approved a third medical leave of absence requested by Jobs. During that time, Cook was responsible for most of Apple’s day-to-day operations while Jobs made most major decisions.[14] After Jobs resigned as CEO and became chairman of the board, Cook was named CEO of Apple Inc. on August 24, 2011.[15][16] On October 5, 2011 Steve Jobs died due to complications from a relapse of his previously treated islet-cell neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, one day after Apple's Keynote on the 4th of October. On that keynote iOS 5, iPhone 4S, Siri, and iCloud were announced. On March 7, 2012 Apple announced an iPad with Retina display and an updated Apple TV.

In April 2012, Time magazine included Cook on its annual 100 Most Influential People in the World list.[17] On June 11, 2012 at Apple's WWDC iOS 6 was announced that featured Apple Maps and was received by the public with hard criticism, Apple also announced a MacBook Pro with Retina display, updated MacBook Air and Pro lines, and Airport Express N Routers and Time Capsules and introduced Mac OS X Mountain Lion.

In October 2012 at Apple's Fall Keynote, Cook announced the new iPhone 5, alongside the new iPad Mini, an updated iPad and a new iPod Touch. A new thinner iMac was also announced, as well as an updated Mac Mini and an updated MacBook Pro with retina display. iOS 6 was also released, while iTunes 11, featuring a cleaner overhauled design, was released.

On October 29, 2012, Cook made major changes to the company's executive team. Scott Forstall resigned as senior vice president of iOS, becoming an advisor to Cook until his scheduled departure from the company in 2013. John Browett, who was SVP of retail, was dismissed after six months on the job having received 100,000 shares worth $60 million when he joined.[18] Forstall's duties were divided among four other Apple executives: design SVP Jonathan Ive assumed leadership of Apple's Human Interface team, Craig Federighi became the new head of iOS software engineering, while services chief Eddy Cue took over responsibilities for Maps and Siri, and Bob Mansfield (previously SVP of hardware engineering) returned to oversee a new technology group.[19] This came after Q3, when revenues and profits grew less than predicted.[20] One commentator said that Forstall was forced to step down as Cook "has decided to lance the boil as internal politics and dissent reached a key pitch". Cook's direction since becoming CEO was to build a culture of harmony, which meant "weeding out people with disagreeable personalities—people Jobs tolerated and even held close, like Forstall",[21] although another journalist said that "Apple's ability to innovate came from tension and disagreement."[22] 2012 has been Apple's most productive year with over 15 products released.

In 2013 Apple quietly introduced a cheaper iPod Touch model without a rear camera and updated its MacBook Pro retina model. Apple showcased iOS 7 and Mac OS X Mavericks at its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10–14. Apple also introduced a new MacBook Air carrying Intel's latest Haswell CPUs and the latest WiFi technologies, being the first computer company to adopt the IEEE 802.11ac standard. At WWDC, Cook also announced an updated Mac Pro that is 8 times smaller its previous model.

Alongside Google vice-president Vint Cerf and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Cook attended a closed-door summit held by President Obama on August 8, 2013 in regard to government surveillance and the Internet in the wake of the Edward Snowden NSA incident.[23][24]

Cook shared the keys to his leadership at Apple: people, strategy, and execution. "If you get those three right the world is a great place."[25] Under Cook's leadership, Apple has increased its donations to charity.[26][27]

Cook in the media

Cook has attended All Things Digital Conferences hosted by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, journalists from the Wall Street Journal, to talk about topics ranging from Apple's future and where it stands, wearable technologies, and the Post PC era given with the rise of mobile devices such as tablets and phones designed by Apple like the iPad and iPhone.[28] Cook has sent a public apology to its customers for its Apple Maps application that was released in iOS 6,[29] however the application has improved dramatically over time featuring 3D Mapping technologies and Siri as a voice navigator assistant. Cook has visited distribution channels from time to time to inspect working conditions to report findings to Apple stockholders. He has been in an interview with Brian Williams from NBC Studios and has been in court cases against Samsung for use of patents and designs over the years that appear to copy Apple's designs. Cook has also fought against tax evasion accusations against the U.S. Congress. Cook visited the Duke University Fuqua School of Business for his 25th reunion.

Personal life

Cook is a fitness enthusiast and enjoys hiking, cycling, and going to the gym. He regularly begins sending emails at 4:30 a.m. and used to hold Sunday night staff meetings by telephone to prepare for the next week.[11] Cook also serves on the board of directors of Nike[3] and the National Football Foundation.[30]

While giving the 2010 commencement speech at Auburn University, Cook emphasized the importance of intuition in guiding his life's biggest choices, and followed by stating that preparation and hard work are also necessary to execute on that intuition.[31]

References

  1. "Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple". Apple Inc. August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2011. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Timothy D. Cook Profile". Forbes. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Nike — Investors — Corporate Governance — Board of Directors". Nike. 
  4. "Times Topics: Timothy Cook News". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2013. 
  5. After Jobs: Apple's Cook gets $380M in compensation
  6. Chenda Ngak (January 11, 2012). "Steve Jobs' successor Tim Cook highest paid CEO". CBS News. Retrieved 1 October 2012. 
  7. Wright, Sharla (October 25, 2005). "Engineering Alumnus Named COO of Apple". Auburn University. Retrieved July 26, 2007. 
  8. Love, Julia (January 14, 2009). "Fuqua grad takes reins at Apple". The Chronicle (Duke University). Retrieved February 11, 2011. 
  9. "The genius of Steve". CNN. August 24. 2011,. Retrieved October 4, 2013. 
  10. Cook, Tim. "Commencement Address at Auburn University, 2010". Fast Co Design. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 Lashinsky, Adam (November 10, 2008). "The genius behind Steve". CNN. Retrieved May 25, 2010. 
  12. Helft, Miguel (January 23, 2011). "The Understudy Takes the Stage at Apple". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2011. 
  13. "Apple boss Steve Jobs takes 'medical leave'". BBC News. January 17, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011. 
  14. "Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, Cook becomes CEO". Reuters. August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2011. 
  15. Wingfield, Nick (October 16, 2006). "Apple's no. 2 has low profile, high impact". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 16, 2006. 
  16. "The 100 Most Influential People in the World". Time. April 12, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012. 
  17. Alex Heath (25 April 2012). "Apple Welcomes New Retail VP John Browett With $60 Million In Stock". Cult Of Mac. 
  18. "Apple Announces Changes to Increase Collaboration Across Hardware, Software & Services". Apple Inc. 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2012-10-29. 
  19. Arthur, Charles (30 October 2012). "Apple's Tim Cook shows ruthless streak in firing maps and retail executives". The Guardian. 
  20. "This is Tim Cook's Apple: A Company Where 'Mini-Steve' Gets the Axe". Forbes. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2013. 
  21. Jay Yarow (12 November 2012). "Fired Apple Executive Scott Forstall 'Was The Best Approximation Of Steve Jobs That Apple Had Left'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 May 2013. 
  22. Juliette Garside (9 August 2013). "Apple, Google and AT&T meet Obama to discuss NSA surveillance concerns". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2013. 
  23. Tony Romm. "Apple’s Tim Cook, tech executives meet with Barack Obama to talk surveillance". Politico. Politico LLC. Retrieved 12 August 2013. 
  24. "Apple CEO and Fuqua Alum Tim Cook Talks Leadership at Duke". The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. May 29, 2013. 
  25. Patel, Nilay. "Tim Cook boasts about Apple's charitable contributions during internal all-hands meeting". The Verge. Retrieved 21 May 2013. 
  26. "Apple's softer side emerges under Cook". 3 News NZ. December 10, 2012. 
  27. http://allthingsd.com/20130528/liveblog-apple-ceo-tim-cook-kicks-off-d11/
  28. http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/
  29. "National Football Foundation Chairman, President and Board of Directors". National Football Foundation. 
  30. Auburn University Spring 2010 Commencement Speaker Tim Cook. Auburn University. May 14, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2011. 

External links

Business positions
Preceded by
Steve Jobs
CEO of Apple
2011–present
Incumbent
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