Tim Cook said he stepped down as Apple CEO on September 1 to give his successor, John Ternus, immediate momentum ahead of the iPhone Duo launch. Ternus, previously Apple’s hardware engineering chief, took over as CEO on September 1, and Cook described the handover as a long-planned transition that “started years ago.”
Tim Cook on the transition and iPhone Duo momentum
In an interview at Apple’s U.K. headquarters in the Battersea Power Station, Cook said the company “really set out to have the best transition ever, a textbook example that people could look back to and learn from.” “It’s been an interesting transition,” he added. “It actually started years ago. Obviously, these things are not quick things and I feel so great about how things are going. I think everything has gone sort of exactly the way I had envisioned it. And it feels fantastic. Because Apple deserved the best.”
Cook said he timed his departure in part to give Ternus “some wind at his back,” noting that “the wind at Apple is very much based on the product cycle.” He pointed to the incoming product cycle as particularly strong: “This product cycle feels unbelievably great. The Duo is coming in a few weeks and it’s amazing.” The handover occurred “just eight days before Ternus unveiled the iPhone Duo,” according to Cook.
Cook also described the guidance he has given Ternus: “The advice I’ve given him is, make it your own job,” he said. “Put your time in the things that you can add the most value to around the company. And that means don’t mimic me. Just like I didn’t mimic Steve. We all have different strengths.”
Philanthropy and the new Apple Music Hall
Cook discussed other initiatives at the Battersea site, including a partnership with The King’s Trust to create an “immersive new education program to help young people build careers in the creative industries.” About the program he said: “It’s a way for us to give back in a way that is uniquely Apple. There are a lot of ways to do philanthropic activities, but I think you want to do ones where you can give part of yourself… not just your resource, but part of yourself, and we have such great creative people in the company that can be incredible mentors to these folks.”
He also commented on the Apple Music Hall at Battersea, calling the performance venue “uniquely Apple.” “I’m not sure there’s a lot of people that could do it, and there’s certainly not a lot of people that would. Every detail has been thought through, the construction, the design, the technology behind it, spatial audio capabilities: it’s the perfect place to perform, whether you’re a top-tier artist now, or an emerging artist, one that’s just starting out. And it’s a commitment to live performance and the recognition that that is so important.”
