Tim Cook says he gets asked how long he’ll remain Apple’s CEO ‘now more than I used to’
Apple CEO Tim Cook is savoring his time in the top job.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says his retirement is becoming a hotter topic as he gets older.
Cook, 64, has had the top job at Apple since 2011. For much of his tenure he’s been asked about his predecessor, the late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, but he says questions have shifted to who will succeed him as CEO.
During a Q&A with Steven Levy, Wired’s editor at large, Cook said he was being asked how much longer he’d be the CEO “now more than I used to.”
“It’s a privilege of a lifetime to be here,” he said. “And I’ll do it until the voice in my head says, ‘It’s time,’ and then I’ll go and focus on what the next chapter looks like.”
Cook has worked at Apple since 1998. He’s seen it through periods of uncertainty and big moments like the release of the iPhone and the achievement of a $3 trillion market cap. He told Levy his “life has been wrapped up in this company.”
“It’s the overwhelming majority of my adult life,” Cook said. “And so I love it.”
Though Apple hasn’t made any declarations about Cook’s retirement, several top execs have been mentioned as possible successors.
Bloomberg reported in May that John Ternus, a senior vice president of hardware engineering, and Jeff Williams, the company’s chief operating officer, were thought to be frontrunners to take the helm.
Bloomberg described company insiders as saying Cook’s retirement was most likely at least three years away. Cook has said he wants his successor to be an internal hire.
“I really want the person to come from within Apple,” Cook told the pop star Dua Lipa on an episode of her podcast, “At Your Service,” in November 2023.
As for what comes after his retirement, Cook told Levy it’s ultimately “up to others to determine” Apple’s legacy, though Cook has his own vision of what that’ll be.
“Apple will be remembered for delivering great products that changed the world, that really improved people’s lives,” he said.
