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Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is the CEO of Apple and serves on its Board of Directors. The highest paid CEO, Cook owns shares valued at US$1.3 billion as of 2015.[1]

Early life and education[]

Cook was born in Mobile, Alabama and raised nearby in Robertsdale. His first computer was an Apple II series that had been manufactured in Singapore. Cook earned an M.B.A. from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University.[2][3]

Career[]

Before being recruited by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Cook worked at Compaq as a VP for Corporate Materials. He served as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations. Cook also served as COO of Intelligent Electronics and also spent 12 years at IBM as the director of North American Fulfillment.[4]

Apple[]

Bloomberg Businessweek Tim Cook cover 2021-02-15

Tim Cook's management style is contrasted with that of Steve Jobs by Bloomberg Businessweek.

When Cook joined Apple Computer in March 1998, he became the company's Senior VP of Worldwide Operations.[4] He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and became responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace. Cook is credited for pulling Apple out of manufacturing by closing unprofitable factories and warehouses around the world. He reorganized Apple's supply chains to support lean manufacturing methods pioneered by Toyota. He has called inventory "fundamentally evil", remarking that "Inventory is like dairy products... and who wants to buy spoiled milk?" Cook's success has led to him being called the "high priest of just-in-time manufacturing".[5]

Cook first became acting CEO of Apple for 2 months in 2004 while Steve Jobs recovered from pancreatic cancer surgery, and again in 2009 when Steve Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant. In January 2011, Steve Jobs was approved for another medical leave, and Cook was placed in charge for most of Apple's day-to-day operations, while Steve Jobs was in charge of major decisions of the company.

On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple and was succeeded for the fourth time by Tim Cook, this time permanently. Cook not only serves as Apple's CEO, but also on the Board of Directors for Nike as the 11th director of the sports apparel company since 2005.

Donald Trump Tim Cook

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Cook in 2017.

Cook has been a member of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. During a meeting at the White House in March 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed Cook as "Tim Apple". Cook responded by changing his Twitter account name to "Tim ".[6] In August 2020, the market value of Apple, which was $350 billion at the beginning of Cook's tenure, became the first to surpass $2 trillion. Cook, himself now a billionaire, has already donated millions to charity and pledged to give most of his wealth away.[7]

Personal life[]

Cook is a fitness enthusiast, and enjoys hiking, cycling, and going to the gym. He normally starts to send emails at 4:30 AM. Cook's secual orientation became a topic of speculation after his appointment as CEO due to Apple's support for human rights issues and his personal participation in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade.[8][9] In response, Cook sought the approval of the Apple Board of Directors and conferred with his friend and news anchor Anderson Cooper before confirming in an editorial that was published on October 30, 2014 by Bloomberg Businessweek that he was indeed gay, stating, "I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others".[10][11]

Stalking incidents[]

In February 2020, Apple was granted a temporary restraining order requiring a 42-year-old San Francisco man named Rakesh “Rocky” Sharma to stay at least 200 yards away from Cook and Apple employees. Sharma had previously trespassed Cook's residence several times, beginning in September 2019,[12] attempting to deliver gifts of flowers and champagne.[13]

On January 21, 2022, Cook was granted a temporary restraining order, barring Julia Lee Choi from his home and Apple premises. Choi baselessly claimed that Cook was her husband and the father of her twin children and drove from McLean, Virginia to Cook's home in Palo Alto, California, where she was met with by police. In response, both Apple Maps and Google Maps blurred out Cook's home from their mapping services.[14] On December 21, 2021, she allegedly asked Cook for $500 million in cash and then threatened to burn down his home.[15] On March 29, 2022, a Santa Clara county court granted an additional restraining order barring Choi from contact with Apple employees and workplaces for three years.[16]

References[]

  1. Cowley, Stacey (August 26, 2011). Apple gives Tim Cook $384 million stock grant.
  2. Tim Cook celebrates Apple's 40 years in Singapore by William Gallagher, AppleInsider. 2021-07-22.
  3. Tim Cook -- Apple CEO and Robertsdale's favorite son -- still finds time to return to his Baldwin County roots by Michael Finch II, Press-Register. 2014-02-24.
  4. 4.0 4.1 How Steve Jobs finally persuaded a 37-year-old Tim Cook to join a near-bankrupt Apple in 1998 by Leander Kahney, CNBC. 2019-04-16.
  5. News analysis: Is pandemic killing just-in-time supply? by Sean Ashcroft, SupplyChain. 2022-01-11.
  6. Trump says he called Apple’s CEO ‘Tim Apple’ to save time after reportedly telling donors he never said it by Lauren Feiner, CNBC. 2019-03-11.
  7. Apple CEO Tim Cook is now a billionaire by Anders Melin, Tom Metcalf, and Bloomberg, Fortune. 2020-08-10.
  8. What Tim Cook says coming out cost him—and why he still has ‘no regrets’ by Zameena Mejia, CNBC. 2018-06-23.
  9. Apple CEO Marches in Gay Pride Parade, Time. 2014-06-30.
  10. Apple CEO Tim Cook Has No Regrets About Publicly Coming Out 5 Years Ago: 'Not for One Minute' by Dave Quinn, People. 2019-10-24.
  11. Tim Cook Speaks Up by Tim Cook, Bloomberg. 2014-10-30.
  12. Apple gets restraining order against man stalking Tim Cook, hearing to follow , by Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac, 2020-02-21
  13. Tim Cook’s alleged stalker tried to give Apple CEO flowers, champagne, by Lewis Wallace, Cult of Mac, 2020-02-20]
  14. Google and Apple Maps Blur Tim Cook’s Home After Stalker Fears, by Charlotte Henry, The Mac Observer, 2022-02-02
  15. Virginia woman, 45, who is 'obsessed' with Apple CEO Tim Cook is hit with restraining order after she drove her Porsche, while possibly armed, to Palo Alto to look for him by Harrier Alexander, Daily Mail. 2022-01-25.
  16. Apple CEO granted restraining order against stalker by Amy Larson, KRON4 News. 2022-03-29.

External links[]

Articles[]

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