Mr. Timothy (Tim) D. Cook

The CEO of Apple, he joined Apple in March 1998 as SVP of Worldwide Operations and also served as EVP of Worldwide Sales and Operations. He was COO until January 2011 when he began serving as acting CEO of Apple when Steve Jobs began a medical leave. He was named the CEO on August 24, 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs, who died on October 5, 2011, from pancreatic cancer. In early 2012, he was awarded compensation of 1 million shares, vesting in 2016 and 2021, by Apple's Board of Directors. As of January 2012, his total compensation package made him the world's highest paid CEO. He grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, near Mobile. His father was a shipyard worker, while his mother was a homemaker. He graduated from high school at Robertsdale High School, earned a B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982, and his M.B.A. from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1988. He spent seven months at Compaq as VP for Corporate Materials before he was hired by Steve Jobs to join Apple in 1998. He initially served as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations. Prior to that, he served as the chief operating officer (COO) of the computer reseller division of Intelligent Electronics and spent 12 years in IBM's personal computer business as the director of North American Fulfillment. He is credited with pulling Apple out of manufacturing by closing factories and warehouses around the world. This helped the company reduce inventory levels and streamline its supply chain, dramatically increasing margins. In January 2007, he was promoted to COO. He served as CEO for two months in 2004, when Jobs was recovering from pancreatic cancer surgery. In 2009, he again served as CEO for several months while Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant. In January 2011, Apple's Board of Directors approved a third medical leave of absence requested by Jobs. During that time, he was responsible for most of Apple’s day-to-day operations while Jobs made most major decisions. Following the resignation of Jobs, he was made CEO of Apple Inc. on August 24, 2011. He also serves on the board of directors of Nike. In April 2012, Time Magazine included him on its annual 100 Most Influential People in the World list. While giving the 2010 commencement speech at Auburn University, he emphasized the importance of intuition in guiding his life's biggest choices, and followed by stating that preparation and hard work are also necessary to execute on that intuition. He regularly begins sending emails at 4:30 am and used to hold Sunday night staff meetings by telephone to prepare for the next week. He is a fitness enthusiast and enjoys hiking, cycling, and going to the gym.