Tim Cook

!Tim Cook) Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who has served as the chief executive officer of Apple Inc. since August 2011.[](https://www.apple.com/leadership/tim-cook/)[](https://www.cnn.com/us/tim-cook-fast-facts) Cook earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982 and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University in 1988, where he was named a Fuqua Scholar.[](https://www.apple.com/leadership/tim-cook/)[](https://trustees.duke.edu/tim-cook-b88/)[](https://www.cnn.com/us/tim-cook-fast-facts) His early career included 12 years at IBM, followed by roles as chief operating officer of the reseller division at Intelligent Electronics and vice president of corporate materials at Compaq Computer Corporation.[](https://www.apple.com/leadership/tim-cook/) Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as senior vice president for worldwide operations, where he streamlined the company's supply chain, reducing inventory from months to days and enabling just-in-time manufacturing that supported rapid product scaling.[](https://www.apple.com/leadership/tim-cook/)[](https://supplychaindigital.com/technology/tim-cook-supply-chain-guru-behind-apple-growth) Promoted to chief operating officer in 2005, he oversaw global sales and operations; he assumed the role of interim CEO in August 2011 during Steve Jobs'medical leave and became permanent CEO following Jobs'death in October 2011.[](https://www.apple.com/leadership/tim-cook/) Under Cook's leadership, Apple's market capitalization expanded from about $350 billion in 2011 to more than $3.9 trillion by 2025, driven by iPhone sales exceeding 3 billion units, growth in services revenue, and diversification into wearables like the Apple Watch.[](https://www.forbes.com/sites/timbajarin/2021/09/08/is-tim-cooks-successor-already-in-the-wings/)[](https://www.forbes.com/companies/apple/)[](https://amecopress.net/its-official-tim-cook-has-now-surpassed-steve-jobs-way-no-one-expected/) He has emphasized operational efficiency, strategic supplier relationships, and user privacy, notably refusing a U.S. government request for an iPhone backdoor in 2016, though his tenure has faced scrutiny over labor conditions in Apple's Chinese supply chain and reliance on foreign manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions.[](https://supplychaindigital.com/technology/tim-cook-supply-chain-guru-behind-apple-growth)[](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/24/apples-tim-cook-warns-silicon-valley-it-would-be-destructive-to-block-strong-privacy-laws.html)[](https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/apples-supply-chain-economic-and-geopolitical-implications/)

Timothy Donald Cookis 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.