Steve Jobs steps down as Apple CEO as his health worsens, with Tim Cook assuming the role of Apple’s seventh CEO.
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On Aug. 24, 2011, Jobs stepped down from the reins of the iPhone manufacturer and appointed Tim Cook as his handpicked successor.
While the era of Steve Jobs was full of innovations and straight up cool products, that of Mr. Cook was rather conservative.
Now Apple is the world’s largest company by market value and remains one of the most influential. During the past fiscal year, the company banked $53 billion in net income. Apple’s quarterly earnings in recent quarters have come in close to the GDP of Uganda, but Cook and company will have to look to new sources of income if they are going to be able to keep up the massive growth of the last five years.
Upon reaching the five-year mark, Cook has today unlocked previously awarded stock bonuses now worth over $100 million. Recently, the smartphone giant sold its billionth iPhone. It has now declined in revenue (on a year-over-year basis) for two quarters in a row, with a third expected this current quarter.
However, the last quarter of these five years hasn’t exactly been all hunky dory as the company has been underperforming.
But change is inevitable, even if Apple’s shareholders are slow to accept it.
It wasn’t just an honorific title: Jobs had increasingly moved away from the day-to-day running of Apple in his last few years, which is why Tim Cook’s operations and supply chain wizardry proved so useful. It’s possible there will never be as good a business run for Apple as the iPhone has been over the first half of this decade.
During this interview, Cook admitted, being Apple’s CEO is a lonely job, although in times of crisis he has turned to others for help.
Less clear: What Cook’s long-term growth story is, if he has one. The Apple Watch hasn’t made up for the iPhone’s declines, and Apple’s supposed electric vehicle project is still years from launch – if it even materializes.
That’s up from 60,000 employees around the time Cook became CEO.
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As Apple’s business has grown, so too has its staff. Apple now has about 125,000 employees, according to recent reports.
