Apple Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook, on Monday officially signed off from the technology giant, paying tribute to the company’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, and praising employees as “extraordinary” as he handed over leadership to his successor, John Ternus.
Cook spent nearly three decades with Apple and served as its CEO from 2011, taking over the position just weeks before Jobs died of pancreatic cancer.
In a farewell memo to Apple employees on his final day in office, Cook reflected on the company’s journey and paid tribute to Jobs’ influence.
“We have made it possible to leave our ‘dent in the universe,’ as Steve once described it,” Cook wrote.
Jobs recruited Cook in 1998, and he rose through the company’s ranks before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2005, where he developed a reputation for his expertise in supply chain management.
Under Cook’s leadership, Apple grew into one of the world’s most valuable companies, with its market value surpassing $4.5 trillion on Monday.
Expressing his appreciation to Apple employees, Cook said his achievements as CEO were largely due to the people he worked with.
“Whatever there is to say about my success, I know it is all because of you,” Cook wrote to his staff. “I have never seen or been with such an extraordinary team of people before, and every day I get to see more examples of that.”
Apple has about 166,000 employees worldwide, according to its most recent annual report.
Cook also described his time leading the company as one of the greatest privileges of his career.
“I love this company and the team behind it,” Cook wrote, adding that it has been “the privilege of a lifetime serving as your leader.”
Ternus will officially take over as Apple CEO on September 1, becoming only the second person to lead the company after Jobs.
He joined Apple in 2001 as part of its design team and later rose to become Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering.
The new CEO will have little time to settle into the role, with Apple scheduled to hold its annual iPhone launch event on September 9. The company is widely expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone at the event.
The leadership transition comes as Apple navigates several challenges, including supply chain pressures linked to strong demand for advanced computing chips, intensifying competition in artificial intelligence and a complicated political environment in Washington.
Ternus will therefore inherit a company at the top of the global technology industry while facing growing pressure to maintain Apple’s dominance and sustain its pace of innovation.
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