Apple Inc.’s CEO, Tim Cook’s career started as it has continued, in the personal computer industry. After graduating from Auburn University in 1982 and Fuqua School of Business in 1988, Tim gained degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration. Armed with impressive qualifications, he spent the first 12 years of his career at IBM's personal computer business. Tim later became CEO at Intelligent Electronics in the computer reseller sector.
Now at the peak of his career, Tim is an immensely influential business figure. Joining in 1998, he took over the CEO position at Apple after Steve Jobs resigned in 2011, to become Chairman of the Board. Credited for reigniting the company’s revenue crisis, Apple’s present $100 billion turnover is thanks to Tim’s leadership skills and innovative mindset. Tim revealed in 2013 that his leadership style focuses on people, strategy and execution, and he added, "If you get those three right the world is a great place”.
His contribution globally has not been confined to his role at Apple but has extended to support international efforts to address the personal privacy issues that regularly threaten to undermine the Internet. Recently he attended a closed-door summit hosted by former US President, Barack Obama, where he positioned Apple at the forefront of respecting customer privacy. In 2017, he featured at the World Internet Conference in China where he commented on Apple’s cybersecurity ethos, in which they are developing a digital economy for openness.
Over the course of Tim’s influential career, he was honoured with a number of high-profile awards. These include the Financial Times Person of The Year award in 2014, the Fortune Magazine's: World's Greatest Leader in 2015 and, most recently, the Courage Against Hate award in 2018 from Anti-Defamation League. For his human rights advocacy, Tim was honoured with the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award in 2015.
Tim Cook is a speaker unlike any other. With his years of experience at the top of the tech industry, he can undoubtedly reveal the business strategies and management methods that produce the most profitable results. Taking over from the prolific Steve Jobs has been no easy task, but Tim has immense self-belief and determination, a topic that he explores in his presentations.
Though Tim values privacy as a businessman, his personal choice to openly share his sexuality, as a high-profile figure promoting acceptance, has helped others to move towards a more accepting view of themselves. In his speeches, Tim uses his journey of coming out to increase understanding for the LGBT+ community, and from the perspective of someone who was brought up in the conservative state of Alabama.
