Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as a senior vice president for worldwide operations, and then as vice president for worldwide sales and operations. He was appointed chief executive of Apple on August 24, 2011, after Jobs resigned.
During his tenure as the chief executive of Apple and while serving on its board of directors, he has advocated for the political reform of international and domestic surveillance, cybersecurity, national manufacturing, and environmental preservation. Since becoming CEO, Cook has also replaced Jobs' micromanagement with a more liberal style and implemented a collaborative culture at Apple.
Since 2011 when he took over Apple, to 2020, Cook doubled the company's revenue and profit, and the company's market value increased from $348 billion to $1.9 trillion. In 2023, Apple was the largest technology company by revenue, with US$394.33 billion.
Outside of Apple, Cook has sat on the board of directors of Nike since 2005. He also sits on the board of the National Football Foundation and is a trustee of Duke University, his alma mater. Cook engages in philanthropy; in March 2015 he said he planned to donate his fortune to charity. In 2014, Cook became the first and only chief executive of a Fortune 500 company to publicly come out as gay. In October 2014, the Alabama Academy of Honor inducted Cook, who spoke on the state's record of LGBT rights. It is the highest honor Alabama gives its citizens. In 2012 and 2021, Cook appeared on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. As of December 2025, his net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion, according to Forbes.
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