History of Apple CEO Tim Cook

The History of Tim Cook

In this video, we explore the history of Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple. We cover his early life, career path, and major achievements within Apple.

Early Life

• Timothy Donald Cook was born on November 1st, 1960 in Mobile, Alabama.

• Cook's parents were not famous people; his mother worked in a pharmacy and his dad worked in a shipyard. He had two brothers that his parents also supported.

• Cook graduated high school second in his class and went to Auburn University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.

Career Path

• After Auburn, he started working for IBM where he spent twelve years from 1982 to 1994 and climbed the ranks to director of North American fulfillment.

• He earned his master’s degree from Duke University in business administration while still at IBM.

• In 1998, Cook met Steve Jobs who offered him a position at Apple when it was losing money fast and nearing bankruptcy.

Major Achievements Within Apple

• As Senior Vice President for worldwide operations at Apple, Cook shut down Macintosh factories and signed new contracts with manufacturers to take some of the pressure off the internal supply chain.

• He implemented just-in-time manufacturing which reduced inventory significantly by reducing flow times within production systems as well as response times from suppliers.

• He predicted that flash memory would be central to new technology in 2005 which paid off big with products like iPods, iPads, and iPhones. He helped create the current image of the company which allowed higher market prices for products – all while keeping production costs low.

Tim Cook's Career at Apple

This section discusses Tim Cook's career at Apple, including his successful first year as CEO and some of the controversial decisions he has made.

Cook's Successful First Year as CEO

• Cook delivered a successful first year as CEO and earned the title of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

Leadership Team Rearrangement

• In response to infighting among executives, Cook rearranged the leadership team of Apple significantly.

• Scott Forstall stepped down as the senior vice president of iOS in 2012 and then left the company for good a year later in 2013.

• John Browett was asked to step down only a few months after he started, and his role was divvied up to other high-ranking individuals.

Controversial Decisions

• The rearrangement was controversial for both Apple employees and outsiders who thought that most of Apple’s success came from allowing tension to exist between senior executives.

• In 2014, Cook made waves by issuing what some people thought was a more than sharp remark to shareholders about making Apple a more sustainable company.

• Some shareholders weren't happy with these endeavors and asked Cook to only pursue investments that were immediately profitable to Apple.

• In 2016, when FBI asked Apple to cooperate in the investigation of Rizwan Farook by unlocking his iPhone, Cook denied the request which resulted in criticism from many quarters.

• Documents leaked in 2017 showed that Apple paid extremely low taxes before transferring their offshore accounts to Channel Islands resulting in being asked by European Union for almost $15 billion unpaid taxes.

Innovation Criticism

• While Tim Cook is known for making some pretty tough, and very public, decisions, he has been criticized by analysts for the amount of innovation that Apple has produced since his time serving as CEO.

• He was criticized for the iPhone X, which saw slow sales after its release in November 2017.

• Even though he may not have the same creative genius Jobs was known for, he’s still an excellent businessman with a history of major upgrades to the company product line.

Ethical Concern

• Cook's concern with business ethics and the impact of Apple on the world – not only as a supplier of technology but as a manufacturer and distributor - is evident from his actions.

• In 2016, Cook appealed against FBI's decision to create special firmware to get around phone security.

• In 2017, Cook defended himself and Apple against criticisms about tax evasion and personal expenses.

The Life and Values of Tim Cook

This section discusses the personal values and experiences that have shaped Tim Cook's life, including his interest in justice, witnessing a Ku Klux Klan incident as a child, being wrongly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and his passion for human rights activism.

Personal Values and Experiences

• Tim Cook's decisions are influenced by his lifelong interest in justice and personal values.

• Witnessing members of the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross on a Black family’s lawn at 13 years old was a major influence on his life.

• Being wrongly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1996 motivated him to help others even more.

• He is passionate about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. He came out publicly as gay in 2014.

Tim Cook's Advocacy

This section discusses some of the issues that Tim Cook has advocated for throughout his career, including climate change and renewable energy, healthcare infrastructure, immigration reform, and LGBT rights.

Issues Advocated For

• In 2017 he voiced disappointment when President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Accords.

• In 2012 he donated $50 million dollars to hospitals around Silicon Valley to help build infrastructure and a new children’s hospital in the area.

• He donates almost annually to democratic politicians including Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the 2016 election.

• He spoke out strongly in 2017 on the discontinuation of DACA defending the children of undocumented immigrants’ right to stay, work, and get education in the United States.

• He is passionate about LGBT rights and was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, where he spoke about the history of LGBT activism in the south.

Tim Cook's Achievements

This section discusses some of Tim Cook's achievements as CEO of Apple, including turning the company around in the 90s, making it an extremely profitable company that brought in almost $50 billion in 2017, creating new jobs and investing billions into the American economy, and receiving numerous awards for his ethical beliefs and advocacy.

Achievements

• He helped turn Apple around in the 90’s and has since built it into an extremely profitable company that brought in almost $50 billion in 2017.

• In 2018 he pledged to create 20,000 new jobs and invest $350 billion into the American economy.

• As a result of his ethical beliefs and advocacy, Cook holds numerous awards including Financial Times Person of the Year, Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award, Fortune Magazine’s World’s Greatest Leader, an honorary doctorate from George Washington University, and Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award.