Today (Aug. 31) is Tim Cook’s last day as Apple’s (AAPL) chief executive officer (CEO).
Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple on Sept. 1 after leading the company for 15 years. He is being replaced by John Ternus, Apple’s Senior Vice-President of Hardware Engineering.
Tim Cook took over as Apple’s CEO on Aug. 24, 2011, following the death of the company’s visionary co-founder Steve Jobs.
During his tenure, Cook both expanded the popularity of existing Apple products such as the iPhone and introduced entirely new consumer electronic devices such as the Apple Watch.
Cook is also widely credited with building Apple’s global supply chain and the company’s market capitalization during his time as CEO.
In the past 15 years, Cook has overseen the growth of Apple’s market cap from $350 billion U.S. to just under $5 trillion U.S. today.
Less of a visionary than Jobs, Cook has always been more of an administrator. But analysts seem to agree that he was the right person to take Apple to the next phase of its development.
During his time at Apple, Cook also turned Apple into a services giant in addition to making electronic devices that include the iPad and MacBook computer.
During his time, Apple launched a digital wallet, credit cards, and a streaming service called Apple TV.
If there has been one knock on Cook’s legacy it has been Apple’s artificial intelligence (A.I.) strategy, or lack of one as critics claim.
While Apple launched an A.I. strategy called “Apple Intelligence,” critics claim it has largely failed to deliver any significant improvements to the company’s devices.
Analysts, investors and consumers have called on Apple to add A.I. to its Siri digital assistant, something that could happen with the launch this September of the iPhone 18.
Ternus is expected to face pressure to deliver a strong and coherent A.I. strategy for Apple when he takes over leadership of the company on Sept. 1.
Cook will transition to become executive chair of Apple’s board of directors.
AAPL stock has risen 2,234% during Tim Cook’s time as CEO. The company’s share price is currently at $319.70 U.S. per share.
