“When you're an engineer, you want to analyze things a lot. But if you believe that the most important data points are people, then you have to make conclusions in relatively short order. Because you want to push the people who are doing great. And you want to either develop the people who are not or, in a worst case, they need to be somewhere else.”

American business executive

Timothy Donald Cook is an American business executive, best known as the chief executive officer of Apple from 2011 to 2026 and as the company’s executive chairman from 2026. He joined Apple in 1998 and worked under co-founder Steve Jobs before taking over as chief executive. Cook rose through senior roles in operations, sales and operations, and then chief operating officer. As Apple’s leader, he oversaw the company’s growth into one of the world’s most valuable businesses. In 2025, Apple was the second largest technology company by revenue worldwide, and Cook also guided the succession plan that led to John Ternus becoming CEO.