Tim Cook marked the new year on his Twitter feed with tributes to the inspiring leadership examples of the late Desmond Tutu and Sidney Poitier. He didn’t mention his own big news – that under his leadership Apple had achieved the remarkable achievement of becoming the world’s first $3 billion company, having tripled in value in just three years. The iPhone maker’s annual revenue now exceeds the GDP of most countries. Perhaps it was policy to avoid highlighting this – thanks to stock rewards, his own salary soared 569% to $98.7 million last year. As Statista notes, Apple’s self-effacing boss now earns more than the company’s “regular workers” (whose median earnings were $68,254 in 2021) by a “stunning” ratio of 1,447 to 1.
How Tim Cook transformed Apple
The numbers are all the more remarkable given the “pervasive” skepticism surrounding Cook’s elevation to the top job a decade ago, following the illness and death of visionary Apple founder Steve Jobs, according to the Financial Times. At the time, rivals such as pugnacious Oracle boss Larry Ellison claimed it was “inevitable that the company would struggle” under Cook, who was dismissed as an effective but unreliable COO. interest, devoid of the genius of his predecessor. “Few predictions have ever been so wrong.”
Critics say the enigmatic Cook simply built on Jobs’ legacy, aided by a “decade of easy money policies, big shifts to mobile, and the emergence of cloud computing.” But that ignores the qualities he brought – “from supply chain expertise” to his “scholarly” navigation of trade flows. Technology news site The Information recently suggested that Apple was so dependent on its boss’s diplomatic skills in international negotiations (especially with sensitive customers like China) that he could face difficulties when he steps down.
Cook has received plenty of criticism for not producing a “magical” product moment, but his two major innovations, AirPods and the Apple Watch, have in fact achieved great success, according to the FT. It may be irrelevant. Proponents say his most significant contribution was transforming an inherently “volatile” product-based company into a services juggernaut, extracting every penny from the “Apple ecosystem”. Above all, he brought “coherence”.
Born in 1960 and raised in Robertsdale, Alabama, Cook has always stood out as a “reliable and friendly kid,” says local news site AL.com. “He was exactly the kind of person you liked to be with,” observed his math teacher. Cook went on to study industrial engineering at Auburn University, then earned an MBA at Duke. After working at IBM, Intelligent Electronics and Compaq, he moved to Apple in 1998. His first meeting with staff upon arrival set the tone, says the Wall Street Journal — it “lasted 11 hours.” Team members always call Fridays “date with Tim” because meetings tend to last for hours into the evening.
A humble workaholic
With his “simple drawl” and “approachable demeanor”, the Apple boss seems “affable”, says the Times. Still, he can sometimes be as formidable as Jobs. He usually gets up at 4 a.m. and is all over the details of Apple’s operations — woe to anyone who arrives at a meeting unprepared. “Dedication to privacy” has always been a big theme for Cook, both professionally (he likes to “twist Mark Zuckerberg’s tail” about Facebook’s collection of personal data) and in private life, says the Sunday Times. Colleagues and acquaintances describe him as “a humble workaholic with a singular commitment to Apple,” says the Wall Street Journal. It certainly turned out a fruitful marriage.
