Who is Tim Cook?

Timothy Donald Cook is the current CEO of Apple, a position he has held since 2011. Cook, who was born on November 1, 1960, is an American business executive who is also on the board of Nike and the National Football Foundation.

Somewhat less is known about the often solitary Cook, who once noted in 2014 that he had strived to achieve a “basic level of privacy”. Nevertheless, we believe that what is public about the businessman speaks for itself.

Education and early career

Cook earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University in 1982 and swiftly took up a position at IBM in its personal computer business.

Over the ensuing years, he was promoted to senior roles in manufacturing and distribution across North and Latin America.

Somehow, he also found the time to earn an MBA which he received in 1988 from Duke University in North Carolina.

In 1994, Cook left IBM and worked for Intelligent Electronics until it was acquired by Compaq in 1997. Over his three-year tenure as COO, he introduced just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing and streamlined production and inventory management processes to cut costs.

This experience would serve Cook well later in his career.

Cook joins Apple

In a 2010 commencement speech at Auburn University, Cook explained that he had taken a chance to join Apple after meeting with Steve Jobs:

“On that day in early 1998, I listened to my intuition, not the left side of my brain or for that matter even the people who knew me best… no more than five minutes into my initial interview with Steve, I wanted to throw caution and logic to the wind and join Apple.”

Cook recognized that to work for such a company was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but with Apple in dire financial trouble in the late 1990s, he had much work ahead of him.

Cook started as SVP for worldwide operations where he closed factories and warehouses and replaced them with contract manufacturers to save money.

Reducing inventory from months to days, Cook’s strategy paved the way for the later success of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad in turn.

Appointment as Apple CEO

Cook was appointed Apple CEO in August 2011, succeeding good friend and co-founder Steve Jobs who stepped down because of poor health.

While Jobs was known to be somewhat autocratic, Cook was democratic, collaborative, and valued the input of others.

What’s more, his ability to fill key roles in the company with smart and effective people enabled him to grow the company into the behemoth it is today.

Time recognized this early on, including the new CEO on their “100 Most Influential People in the World” list in 2012.

Persona life and philanthropy

Cook enjoys being active and is an avid hiker, cycler, and gym-goer.

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996, his outlook on life changed and has since participated in various charity events to raise awareness about the disease.

In 2015, he announced that he would donate all of his $800 million fortune to charity before he died.

This process has already begun, and while the causes Cook champions are mostly undisclosed, he has spoken publicly about issues such as human rights, equality, climate, change, and the prevention of HIV/Aids.

Key takeaways:

Timothy Donald Cook is the current CEO of Apple. Born on November 1, 1960, the American business executive is also on the board of Nike and the National Football Foundation.
Cook earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University in 1982 and swiftly took up a position at IBM in its personal computer business. Around the same time, he earned an MBA from Duke University in North Carolina and then joined Intelligence Electronics as COO.
After a meeting with Steve Jobs in 1998, Cook decided to join Apple on a whim and embarked on a significant cost-cutting strategy to save the company from financial ruin. When Jobs stepped down in 2011, Cook’s democratic and collaborative leadership style turned the company into one of the most valuable in the world.

Read: Apple Business Model.