Tim Cook Named Apple CEO As Steve Jobs Resigns (PHOTOS)

Tim Cook, formerly Apple's chief operating officer, has been named CEO in the wake of Steve Jobs's resignation.

Jobs's decision to step down from his position as chief executive came after he announced in January that he was taking a leave of absence for health reasons.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come," Jobs wrote in his resignation letter.

In the letter, Jobs recommends that Cook assume the CEO position.

Cook has previously filled Jobs' shoes, notably filling in for him while he was on medical leave this year and in 2009. However, this is the first time Cook has officially stepped into the CEO position.

BACKGROUND:

Cook, 50, who was named COO in 2005, joined Apple in 1998 as senior vice president of Operations. Prior to his work at Apple, Cook worked in operations at Compaq and spent 12 years at IBM. Born in Alabama, he graduated with an M.B.A. from Duke University and studied engineering at Auburn University.

According to Apple, as COO Cook "is responsible for all of the company's worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple's supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. Cook also heads Apple's Macintosh division and plays a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace."

You can read more about Cook's history at Apple, here.

• • • • • • CUPERTINO, CA - OCTOBER 20: Apple COO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple special event at the company's headquarters on October 20, 2010 in Cupertino, California. Apple announced a new version of it's iLife suite and is expected to announce a new operating system for its Mac computers. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Comments

[bigkendallas]

02:33 PM on 08/29/2011

to be honest, over the last few years, Tim Cook has probably been more responsible form the success ....although a figurehead like Jobs helps marketing, the no so "stylish" day-to-day operations can really be credited to Tim.

[Howard53545]

06:14 AM on 08/29/2011

Does Apple have any minority (women) executives or is this the old white boy's club. Jobs is given credit for the products.

[dukeofurl01]

03:54 AM on 08/27/2011

Is it me, or does Tim Cook look like Peter's Father on Family Guy? (especially in that very top picture of this article)

[Rebecca Goodman]

12:25 AM on 08/26/2011

#stevejobs #apple

[twystd69]

11:36 PM on 08/25/2011

Hmm, maybe now they will at least manufacture one phone, one laptop or one ipad here in the US since Jobs is steppping down. I would never own an apple product mainly becuase not one item of theirs is assembled, manufactured or built here in the US. They use sweat labor in Asia.

[Ray II]

11:22 PM on 08/25/2011

I guess everything is OK at Apple,but who has the reach and the vision for new products and the future needs?

[jimall3]

11:17 PM on 08/25/2011

If Apple is a good and sustainable corporation then who helms it Should NOT Matter.

Unless... there is some other reason? Perhaps the Press and certain investors like Steve Jobs -- his race or ethnicity giving him more access to Hollywood and Media than would a man named Cook?

Of course religious favortism is illegal in the USA but as Joel Stein said it occurs in Hollywood and in media to the detriment of most Americans who are ineligable to hold jobs there. Ted Turner tried to buy CBS but certain forces hated him because he was the wrong ethnicity. Joel Stein said as much in 2008 LA Times article.

[bendtypes]

08:36 PM on 08/25/2011

Tim Cook, formerly Apple's chief operating officer, has been named CEO in the wake of Steve Jobs's resignation.

Because he looks like the Jobster?

[krk today]

08:20 PM on 08/25/2011

I don't have anything Apple but I think Steve Job's is a amazing man who did a amazing job. Amazing is a word seriously overused but not in this case!

[saracastle00]

08:12 PM on 08/25/2011

Doesn't mean im going to stop drooling over the Apple products in the crowded Apples stores

[oceanview136]

07:15 PM on 08/25/2011

Is it me, or does this man look a lot like Steve Jobs ??

[robynrantoul]

10:17 PM on 08/25/2011

Give him a scruffy look and different glasses..... and you are correct! Steve did a great job lets see what Cook has......

[kaysquare]

06:42 PM on 08/25/2011

Gosh, the new face of Apple looks a lot like the old face of Apple.

[dlpcountry]

06:39 PM on 08/25/2011

I have Apple Stock and although I am sorrowed to see Job leave, I know Cook will continue on in the same fashion he has in the past and take Apple to the next levels.

[esq1128]

06:23 PM on 08/25/2011

It's what's now cooking for Apple.

[meezmos]

05:35 PM on 08/25/2011

He looks like a guy that idolizes Jobs and went as far as to make himself look exactly like him............scary!

[esq1128]

06:35 PM on 08/25/2011

Let us hope he feels better than he looks. Remember the old Russian dictators. When one replaces one. The replacement gets a cough and soon he's gone. Just a thought.