Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Stepping Down | EUROtoday

Tim Cook is stepping down because the CEO of Apple and transitioning to a job as the corporate’s government chairman, efficient September 1, the corporate introduced on Monday. John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice chairman of {hardware} engineering, will change Cook as CEO.

Cook’s departure had been speculated upon in latest months. In an period when each different Big Tech firm has thrown vital assets at creating superior AI, Apple is extensively perceived as a laggard. Ternus’ previous job will fall to Johny Srouji, who was elevated to chief {hardware} officer from a senior vice chairman on Monday. Srouji has been instrumental to Apple’s growth of customized laptop chips.

Cook’s legacy at Apple will probably be tied to the corporate’s super monetary development over the previous 20 years. When he took over as CEO in 2011, the corporate’s market capitalization was round $350 billion; it’s now north of $4 trillion. More than 2.5 billion folks all over the world used an Apple system as of January, in accordance with the corporate.

During Cook’s tenure Apple launched each the Apple Watch and AirPods, vital anchors for the corporate’s equipment unit, which generated practically $36 billion in income over the last fiscal 12 months. Its companies enterprise, which retains customers locked into Apple {hardware} and now accounts for over 1 / 4 of the corporate’s whole gross sales, grew from about $3 billion 1 / 4 on the finish of 2011 to about $30 billion within the ultimate three months of final 12 months.

But a number of the tasks developed below Cook, akin to Apple’s self-driving automotive, had been much less profitable. Apple Vision Pro, the corporate’s delayed foray into digital actuality headsets, was extensively thought-about to be too costly and failed to realize traction. While Cook expertly managed Apple’s manufacturing cycles throughout the world pandemic and shortly diversified the corporate’s provide chain when it encountered stress from tariffs, Cook’s legacy is prone to be that of an operations grasp somewhat than a product innovator.

Cook’s dealings with China are additionally part of his operational legacy, as China turned not solely a important hub of producing but in addition an vital shopper marketplace for Apple. As of final 12 months, Apple held the highest spot in smartphone market share within the nation, with an estimated 22 p.c. In latest years, although, Apple has confronted scrutiny over what some lawmakers allege is the usage of pressured labor involving Uyghur Muslims by its contractors. Apple additionally reportedly tried to foyer in opposition to sure provisions in a 2020 invoice that will have prevented pressured labor in China.

Cook, like many tech CEOs, has cozied as much as President Donald Trump since Trump’s return to the White House—typically even standing, grim-faced, beside the president at public occasions. Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration festivities in early 2025. He additionally appeared at Trump’s inauguration itself, alongside Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. In an odd show of fealty final August, Cook offered Trump with a customized Apple plaque that was nested in a pure gold base. He additionally attended a personal screening of the Melania documentary on the White House, hours after a federal immigration agent shot and killed nurse Alex Pretti throughout a avenue protest.

In 2014, the sometimes personal Cook introduced that he’s homosexual in an op-ed in Bloomberg Businessweek. At the time, Cook wrote that being homosexual gave him a deeper understanding of “what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day.” His expertise had taught him to “rise above adversity and bigotry,” Cook wrote. He additionally cited concern for kids being bullied as a motivation for him to talk out about his personal experiences.