Tim Cook

Everything you need to know about Apple's CEO

1,045 'Tim Cook' stories February 2010 - March 2015

Tim Cook was appointed CEO in 2011 when Steve Jobs stepped away from the company as his health worsened. Cook was handpicked by Jobs to be his replacement, having served as a close friend of Jobs during their entire career together.

A graduate of Auburn University with a degree in industrial engineering, Cook earned his Masters from Duke University’s School of business. Prior to joining Apple, Cook spent 12 years at IBM, then served as the Chief Operating Officer of Intelligent Electronics. He then had a short stint at Compaq.

Cook first joined Apple in 1998 after being recruited by Jobs. Cook remarked in a commencement address at Auburn University that, five minutes into his interview with Jobs, he knew he wanted to join Apple. “My intuition already knew that joining Apple was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for the creative genius,” he remarked.

At Apple, Cook started out as senior vice president of worldwide operating. He served as interim CEO in 2009 while Steve Jobs was on medical leave. In 2011, Cook again stepped in to lead day-to-day operations while Jobs was ill, before ultimately being named CEO permanently just before the death of Jobs.

Cook has been very outspoken on a variety of social issues, including the need to protect user data and privacy, as evident by his vocal refusal to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen. Cook has also voiced his displeasure with controversial legislation that enables LGBT discrimination in a handful of states in the United States. Likewise, Cook has frequently called on the United States Congress to pass LGBT protection legislation. He became the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 2014, as well. Cook has led Apple in the San Francisco Pride Parade in recent years.

View all Tim Cook-related articles below:

Apple Store retail plan for Watch: 15 min. appointments, 10+ try-on stations, Experts for Edition

Mark Gurman Mar 18 2015 - 11:22 am PT

34 Comments

Apple will introduce several major initiatives to ready its retail stores for the Apple Watch’s launch in April, according to sources briefed on the upcoming changes. Starting on April 10th, Apple will allocate 15 minutes per customer for in-store try-on appointments, using 10 or more try-on stations to manage what’s expected to be a steady flow of customers interested in having hands-on time with the Watch. While customers will not necessarily be required to have an appointment, they will be time-limited and guided during the hands-on experience. Additionally, they will be given the opportunity to place a reservation at the time of try-on for a particular model, and make a follow-up appointment to pick the watch up during the April 24th launch date. Stores will also have launch day stock for walk-in appointments.

Expand
Expanding
Close

FastCo interview: Tim Cook talks Apple philosophy/legacy, Apple watch skepticism, new Campus & more

Ben Lovejoy Mar 18 2015 - 5:31 am PT

41 Comments

Fast Company has an extensive interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, focusing on what has changed and what has stayed the same since he took over from Steve Jobs. The interview comes a day after FastCo published a sizeable excerpt from the book Becoming Steve Jobs, in which Cook criticized the portrayal of Jobs in Isaacson’s biography.

Cook said that while much has changed, the culture–the fundamental goal of the company–remained the same.

Steve felt that if Apple could do that—make great products and great tools for people—they in turn would do great things. He felt strongly that this would be his contribution to the world at large. We still very much believe that. That’s still the core of this company.

The company has never tried to be first to market, he said, but rather to “have the patience to get it right” …
Expand
Expanding
Close

From ‘Becoming Steve Jobs’: Cook says Isaacson book was a tremendous disservice, succession planning began in 2004, more

Benjamin Mayo Mar 17 2015 - 3:55 am PT

16 Comments

Fast Company has today published a sizeable excerpt from Becoming Steve Jobs ($12 Amazon, $13 iBook), the upcoming book about the Apple cofounder’s’ life and his mannerisms. Unlike previous efforts, Apple is openly promoting this book and many executives, CEO Tim Cook included, have participated in interviews. This has yielded some very in-depth, intimate and interesting stories.

Following the story of Cook offering to give Jobs his liver, Cook is quoted as saying the Isaacson book did the late CEO a ‘disservice’. In very similar words to how Cue described the (unrelated) film about Jobs at SXSW, Cook says ‘The person I read about there is somebody I would never have wanted to work with over all this time’.

“The Steve that I met in early ’98 was brash and confident and passionate and all of those things. But there was a soft side of him as well, and that soft side became a larger portion of him over the next 13 years. You’d see that show up in different ways. There were different employees and spouses here that had health issues, and he would go out of his way to turn heaven and earth to make sure they had proper medical attention. He did that in a major way, not in a minor, ‘Call me and get back to me if you need my help’ kind of way.

Cook also recalls how Jobs would call up his mother on the pretense of finding Cook, but in reality just wanted to talk to his parents about convincing Cook to have more of a social life. ‘Someone who’s viewing life only as a transactional relationship with people…doesn’t do that’.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook surprises Jim Cramer on Mad Money, talks Steve Jobs, health and more

Mike Beasley Mar 12 2015 - 3:54 pm PT

4 Comments

In a **totally unscripted surprise** call to celebrate Mad Money stock analyst Jim Cramer’s 10th year on the air, Apple CEO Tim Cook let loose a slew of compliments to the analyst who has had a controversial past with AAPL stock trading.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Upcoming biography reveals Steve Jobs turned down liver donation from Tim Cook, wanted to buy Yahoo, and more

Mike Beasley Mar 12 2015 - 3:30 pm PT

8 Comments

More details about the upcoming biography Becoming Steve Jobs have been revealed through the book’s preview on Amazon (which has since been cut down significantly), revealing several interesting tidbits about the Apple co-founder’s life that were previously unknown (via Cult of Mac).

One example is a story about an offer then-COO Tim Cook made to Jobs when the latter was battling cancer. Cook says that he discovered he shared a blood type with Jobs and decided to undergo numerous medical tests before offering to donate part of his liver to the executive.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Numbers from Apple’s event: 700 million iPhones sold, 453 retail stores, 21 stores in China, more

Jordan Kahn Mar 9 2015 - 10:15 am PT

0 Comments

From Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ Apple Watch event today, we’ve rounded up the notable numbers and other updates shared by CEO Tim Cook and other execs throughout the presentation. Among them: Apple recently sold it’s 700 millionth iPhone. Cook also noted that iPhone is growing at a rate of growth double the industry (as pictured in the slide above).

Apple also shared some numbers on Apple Pay, retail stores, growth in China, and CarPlay.

Head below for more stats and company updates announced today:
Expand
Expanding
Close

News Hub: Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ Apple Watch event

Mark Gurman Mar 9 2015 - 7:30 am PT

23 Comments

Today’s the day: Apple is holding its “Spring Forward” event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. This article contains the latest updates from the event in live blog style; all of our detailed individual stories from the event are now summarized at this link. The event officially began at 10 AM Pacific/ 1PM Eastern time, and our live coverage is below.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple improves deal for shuttle bus workers following earlier deal for security guards

Ben Lovejoy Mar 9 2015 - 6:25 am PT

0 Comments

Apple is ensuring that its sub-contracted shuttle bus workers get a better deal, directly funding a 25% bump in their pay and requiring contractors to pay a higher hourly rate for split shifts–where drivers work both mornings and evenings but are kept hanging around without pay between the two …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Watch’s retail sales pitch revealed: 3 key features, switch to iPhone, focus on bands

Mark Gurman Mar 3 2015 - 11:31 am PT

38 Comments

With next week’s Apple Watch event fast approaching, Apple has revealed its retail selling strategies to employees, including a focus on “three key features” and a plan to encourage Watch customers to upgrade or switch to new iPhones. According to selling guidelines provided by sources within Apple Retail, Apple believes that “many customers have already decided they want an Apple Watch,” and will use the Watch to “position the benefits” of purchasing a compatible iPhone model. Retail employees have been told to ask customers about their iPhone usage habits, their favorite feature in iOS 8, and if they use health and fitness software on their iPhone…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple hiring majority of contracted security guards as full-time staff, offering benefits

Zac Hall Mar 3 2015 - 10:30 am PT

3 Comments

Comical Apple HQ security skit from <a href="http://youtu.be/sBfvJn-fpnc?t=32m32s" target="_blank">October 2014 event</a>

Apple is changing the way it hires much of its security staff, San Jose Mercury News reports. Apple will begin to directly employe most of its security offers rather than contracting staff out.

After a yearlong review, Apple has decided to hire the majority of its day-to-day security staff in the valley as full-time Apple workers, a spokeswoman told this newspaper.

The change is especially notable as it means Apple will be providing benefits including health insurance and retirement options to its security staff.
Expand
Expanding
Close

‘Becoming Steve Jobs’ book with Tim Cook & Jony Ive interviews coming March 24th

Zac Hall Mar 2 2015 - 1:05 pm PT

6 Comments

There’s a healthy amount of story telling about the life of Steve Jobs due out this year. In October, we’ll get to see Aaron Sorkin’s take on the late Apple co-founder’s experience at Apple play out on the big screen when “Jobs” hits theaters.

Sooner than that, though, a new book from Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli entitled Becoming Steve Jobs (announced via Daring Fireball) will attempt to be different from all the other Jobs books.

Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half-genius, half-jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike. Becoming Steve Jobs answers the central question about the life and career of the Apple cofounder and CEO: How did a young man so reckless and arrogant that he was exiled from the company he founded become the most effective visionary business leader of our time, ultimately transforming the daily life of billions of people?

How will this new book differ from everything that has already been published about Jobs including his authorized biography from Walter Isaacson? The book is loaded with interviews, for starters, including ones from Apple executives like Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and Eddy Cue (so don’t expect any pen throwing).

Their rich, compelling narrative is filled with stories never told before from the people who knew Jobs best, and who decided to open up to the authors, including his family, former inner circle executives, and top people at Apple, Pixar and Disney, most notably Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, Robert Iger and many others.

The new book is available for pre-order now from iBooks, ($14.99), Kindle ($14.99), and hardcover (Reg. $30, pre-order $21.78) and due out March 24th.

Apple puts Environment VP Lisa Jackson in charge of boosting accessibility efforts

Mark Gurman Mar 2 2015 - 7:32 am PT

5 Comments

Apple Watch Accessibility Settings

Apple told employees during a week at the flagship Berlin Apple Store in Germany that the company will increase its focus on product accessibility by putting executive Lisa Jackson in charge of the efforts, according to people in attendance. Asked by an Apple Store employee if the Apple Watch will include accessibility features, Cook reportedly replied:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook says Apple Watch will be available outside U.S. in April

Mark Gurman Mar 2 2015 - 7:06 am PT

6 Comments

Speaking at the Berlin flagship Apple Store last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees that the Apple Watch will not be exclusive to the United States in April, according to employees in attendance. Specifically, Cook said that the Apple Watch will launch in Germany during the month of April. It’s possible that the Apple Watch will launch first in the United States in early April, with Germany and other countries following later in the month, but it definitely appears that the Watch’s rollout will be more aggressive than the first iPhone and iPad launches…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook: Apple Watch will replace car keyfobs, reward exercise, filter messages

Ben Lovejoy Feb 27 2015 - 7:15 am PT

28 Comments

In an interview with the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Tim Cook said that while people might see limited reasons to want an Apple Watch today, they will soon find lots of other uses for it. The interview took place during a London stop in Cook’s international tour.

This will be just like the iPhone: people wanted it and bought for a particular reason, perhaps for browsing, but then found out that they loved it for all sorts of other reasons.

One of those reasons, he said, would be to replace your car keyfob …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook’s latest stop in whirlwind international tour: London’s Covent Garden Apple Store

Ben Lovejoy Feb 27 2015 - 6:39 am PT

4 Comments

Tim Cook’s international tour continues. After visiting BILD, Chancellor Angela Merkel and an Apple Store in Germany, and President Reuven Rivlin in Israel, he was photographed today in the Apple Store in London’s Covent Garden.

Business Insider pulled together a few tweets in which Cook gave Apple Watch demos to surprised customers, and posed for selfies with store employees …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook to give commencement address at George Washington University in May

Mike Beasley Feb 25 2015 - 5:31 pm PT

1 Comment

Apple CEO Tim Cook will give the commencement address at George Washington University’s graduation ceremony this May, the school announced today. Cook, who will receive an honorary degree during the event, was selected after being suggested by GWU students.

The commencement will take place on May 17th on the National Mall. The full GWU press release is included below.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook & Apple Technology VP Johny Srouji visiting Israel today (Photos)

Zac Hall Feb 25 2015 - 8:17 am PT

26 Comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook & Israel President Reuven Rivlin

Apple CEO Tim Cook is continuing his international tour this week with a stop in Israel, The Marker reports. The publication reports that Cook arrived in Israel today and has since met with President Reuven Rivlin (seen above) at his home in Jerusalem; Cook is also expected to meet with former President Shimon Peres during the trip. Alongside Cook for the trip, notably, is Johny Srugi, Apple’s Vice President of Hardware Technologies, a graduate of Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook: Apple Watch will be showerproof, Apple Pay goal for Europe is “end of the year”

Ben Lovejoy Feb 25 2015 - 7:40 am PT

31 Comments

French site iGen is reporting that Tim Cook told an employee in the Kurfürstendamm Apple Store in Berlin that he wears his Apple Watch all the time–”even in the shower.” While Apple has previously mentioned water-resistance, and stated that the S1 innards are “completely encapsulated in resin,” this is the first time we’ve had a specific indication on what that means in practice.

In line with expectations that the watch will only have one day of battery-life, Cook confirmed that he removes it every night to charge …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during Berlin visit, talked privacy, security & more

Ben Lovejoy Feb 25 2015 - 4:11 am PT

25 Comments

It seems Tim Cook had more on his schedule than a meeting with BILD during his visit to Berlin yesterday: the newspaper reports that he also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Cook told BILD that they discussed security, net neutrality, environmental protection and education–but the key topic appears to have been data privacy.

Cook said that he could well understand Germany’s strong stance on data privacy, stating that Germans “have the same views on privacy as I do” …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple CEO Tim Cook visiting famous German BILD newsroom today

Zac Hall Feb 24 2015 - 7:42 am PT

12 Comments

As Tim Cook honors what would have been Steve Jobs’ 60th birthday, the Apple CEO has been spotted in Berlin, Germany. Specifically, Cook has made an appearance at the newsroom of BILD (Bild-Zeitung), the famous German newspaper, alongside the publication’s editors-in-chief Kai Diekmann and Julian Reichelt.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Happy Hour Podcast 002 | Getting the facts straight about Apple’s mystery car project

Dom Esposito Feb 18 2015 - 11:31 am PT

1 Comment

Welcome to the second installment of the revamped Happy Hour podcast. Today we’re talking all about cars. Apple cars. Do they exist? Well, that’s anyone’s guess at this point, but there are a lot of details that line up for this to become a possibility. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed…

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/191737483?secret_token=s-BnvxP” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

Click here to subscribe on iTunes or listen to the second episode embedded above.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis tours Apple HQ with Tim Cook, addresses employees

Mike Beasley Feb 17 2015 - 6:03 pm PT

3 Comments

[tweet https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/567822969596076032 align=’center’]

Georgia Congressman John Lewis took a tour of Apple’s headquarters with CEO Tim Cook today. Lewis is in town to promote his new graphic novel focusing on the civil rights movement, March: Book Two. Cook tweeted the photo with Lewis above earlier tonight.

Lewis also addressed Apple employees during an event held on campus today. Last year Apple revealed its diversity statistics for the first time in company history and promised to continue working on diversifying its workforce. Cook also met with Rev. Jesse Jackson in December to discuss the topic.

Alabama native Tim Cook has often discussed the civil rights movement and taken an active role in promoting policies and legislation related to various civil issues, including education as a right and race relations.

Apple reportedly terminated contract w/ Alabama lobbyist over his same-sex marriage opposition

Zac Hall Feb 17 2015 - 11:46 am PT

89 Comments

Tim Cook’s Apple is no stranger to standing up for social issues including marriage equality.

Almost a year ago to date, the company—not just Tim Cook—voiced public opposition to anti-gay legislation in Arizona which was surprisingly vetoed after weeks of public attention. The company also embraced last year’s annual Pride parade in San Francisco with an official video highlighting participation by thousand of employees and family members. There’s also Tim Cook’s widely praised essay published last year in which he first publicly acknowledged being gay—a first for a Fortune 500 chief executive.

So when Apple realized it hired a former politician with a history of promoting anti-gay legislation to lobby on its behalf to the Alabama Congress, it’s no surprise that the company reportedly severed ties with the individual…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Inside Apple’s new offices in Herzliya, Israel [Gallery]

Mark Gurman Feb 16 2015 - 10:12 am PT

19 Comments

Apple is opening up a new suite of offices inside Israel this week, with CEO Tim Cook reportedly visiting Israel in part to inaugurate the new workspace. Recent reports have indicated that the offices will hold approximately 800 employees across 180,000 square feet of space.

Today, Israel-based website GSM-Israel has published purported photos of the upcoming new Apple space in Herzliya. The construction, features, and tables are all in line with Apple’s offices in others parts of the world. A full gallery of the new offices can be viewed below.

Apple has a history of working in Israel from purchases of companies like Anobit and PrimeSense, to the construction of research and development offices. Cook has also previously met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During this upcoming visit, Cook will reportedly meet with former President Shimon Peres.

Expand
Expanding
Close