There’s long been speculation about when Apple CEO Tim Cook might retire and who is likely to replace him. That intensified earlier this month when he turned 65.
Cook himself has made only two on-the-record statements, but a new report over the weekend suggests that the company is now ramping up preparations to replace him “as soon as next year” …
Tim Cook’s retirement
Tim Cook turned 65 earlier this month, and given that’s a common retirement milestone, it led to renewed speculation about the potential timings.
Cook himself started laying the groundwork back in 2021. He stated then that he didn’t expect to still be at Apple in 2031, though he said on Dua Lipa’s podcast two years ago that he would be there for a while yet.
A Financial Times report on Saturday said that Apple’s board had intensified its search for his replacement. Although Apple SVP of Hardware Engineering John Ternus is the prime candidate, the report says the board is also considering external candidates.
It even suggests the company might make the announcement early in the year to give the new CEO time to settle in before WWDC in June and the next iPhone launch in September. If so, that would make the announcement just a few short months away. The piece does hedge, however, noting that planned timings could still change.
This is clearly a deliberate leak
As a number of other Apple commenters have observed, this has all the hallmarks of a deliberate leak. John Gruber observes that the number of people within Apple who would know about this is so small that an accidental leak doesn’t seem credible.
I don’t think there are many people, if any, outside Apple’s top executive team and board of directors who have any insight into Cook’s thinking on this. That “several people” spoke to the FT about this says to me that those sources (members of the board?) did so with Cook’s blessing, and they want this announcement to be no more than a little surprising.
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