'This is not goodbye': what Tim Cook's letter saying as Apple's outgoing CEO is saying
Tim Cook called being Apple CEO "the best job in the world" / Photo: X / tim_cook
Tim Cook, who is set to step down as Apple CEO in September, has published a letter reflecting on his tenure at the company and his successor. Here's what the letter says:
- Cook writes that for the past 15 years, since he became Apple's CEO, Cook has started the same way almost every morning - by reading messages from users. Cook's emails, like those of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs at one time, were widely known, Business Insider notes.
Cook said Apple device owners share "little snippets of their lives" with him, thanking him and sometimes criticizing him if something isn't working the way it should.
"In each of these letters I hear the heartbeat of our common humanity. I feel an ever-deepening commitment to work harder and move on. But most of all, I feel a gratitude that I cannot put into words: that I am somehow privileged to be the person on the other side of these letters, the leader of a company that ignites imaginations and enriches lives so profoundly that it defies description. What an honor and what a privilege."
- Cook calls the post of Apple CEO "the best job in the world." He says John Ternus, who will replace him in the position, is perfect for the job. Ternus is a "brilliant engineer and thinker," "obsessed with every detail, focused on every possible way to make something better, bolder, more beautiful and more meaningful," Cook described.
- "This is not goodbye," Cook emphasized in the letter. Now comes the transition period - Cook will continue to be CEO until the end of the summer. However, he wrote that he decided to take the opportunity to thank Apple users.
"Not on behalf of the company - although within our walls there is an inexhaustible source of gratitude to you. "But simply from myself. From Tim. A man who grew up in a rural area, in a different time, and who, in these magical moments, happens to be the CEO of the greatest company in the world. Thank you for the trust and kindness you have shown me. Thank you for saying hello to me on the street and in our stores. Thank you for cheering with me when we introduce a new product or service. And above all, thank you for believing in me as the leader of a company that has always put you at the center of its work. Every day we get up and think about what we can do to make your life a little better. And every day you make mine the best life we can dream of.
Context
Apple announced on April 20 that Tim Cook, 65, will step down as CEO and become executive chairman effective Sept. 1.
Cook became CEO in 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs. During his tenure, Apple's market value grew by almost $3.7 trillion to about $4 trillion. No other CEO in the U.S. has achieved such a result, except for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, WSJ notes.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
