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Tim Cook

Everything you need to know about Apple's CEO

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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:

Tim Cook privacy speech at the IAPP Summit sticks to generalities, defends Apple’s position

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As promised, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s privacy speech was the headline address to the International Association of Privacy Professionals, describing the fight for privacy as “one of the most essential battles of our time.”

His speech followed an earlier call by FTC chair Lina Kahn for a federal privacy law, alongside antitrust legislation to make tech giants less powerful …

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Tim Cook email to employees about Ukraine: Will match donations two to one

Tim Cook email to employees about Ukraine

A Tim Cook email to employees about the Ukraine crisis outlines the steps Apple has taken so far, and assures them that further action will follow.

Additionally, when employees make donations to humanitarian aid organizations working in the region, Apple will match those donations on a two-for-one basis, tripling the original donation …

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Tim Cook’s $100M payout, private jet costs, and more revealed in Apple SEC filing

Apple today published its annual proxy statement, announcing that it will hold its annual meeting of shareholders on March 4, 2022. In addition to announcing the date of the shareholders’ meeting, the proxy statement also includes a few interesting tidbits about Apple’s business over the last year, including details on executive pay and more.

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Tim Cook: Mental health is an issue for all of us; tech can help or hinder

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In a new interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, mental health is the focus of the discussion. Cook says that there is currently a mental health crisis, and he believes technology can either help or hinder, depending on how it is used.

Cook also met with the developers of the mental health app Shine, which Apple featured as part of its Best of the App Store awards last year …

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Report: Tim Cook wants to oversee ‘one more major new product category’ before stepping down as Apple CEO

Tim Cook's testimony in Epic case will be key

Over the last few years, speculation about who will take over as Apple CEO following Tim Cook has started to grow. Most recently, Cook himself confirmed that he “probably” won’t be at Apple in 10 years’ time.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speculates on the future of the Apple CEO position and says that the belief inside Apple is that Cook wants to stick around “for one more major new product category.”

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Tim Cook White House visit confirmed; Apple announcement might follow [U]

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Update: Apple did make a security announcement, but only a supply-chain related one.

We learned earlier this week about a potential Tim Cook White House visit to attend a cybersecurity summit hosted by President Biden. Cook’s participation has now been confirmed by a list of attendees shared by an administration official, and could provide an excellent opportunity for Apple’s CEO to drive home the company’s stance on privacy and strong encryption.

A new report today also raises the possibility of a security-related announcement by Apple after the meeting has finished …

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Tim Cook’s 4 a.m. starts explained; former exec says Apple less exciting under Cook

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Tim Cook’s 4 a.m. starts are the stuff of legend. A new interview with Apple’s CEO opens with his explanation of why he’s at his desk by this time.

Alongside a lot of standard interview fare, a former Apple exec is cited declaring that Apple was more magical, more exciting, when Steve Jobs ran the company…

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Tim Cook and other CEOs team up to call on Congress to pass path to citizenship for dreamers

Tim Cook's testimony in Epic case will be key

More than 90 CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook, are urging Congress to pass a law offering a citizenship path to young immigrants brought illegally to the US as children, Bloomberg reports.

In the letter signed by Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Microsoft’s Brad Smith, and many others, the CEOs write on behalf of the “recent ruling in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.”

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