Apple's next CEO candidate inventory: Who can replace Tim Cook?

[Gearbest Technology]Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to exit Apple within the next decade.

Cook himself has said that his time at the top of Apple is limited. In an interview in April 2021, Cook discussed succession planning at the iPhone maker and confirmed his intention to leave. “Ten more years? Probably not,” Cook said in response to a question about whether he'dhold officeThe ten-year issue was mentioned.

A roundup of potential candidates for Apple's next CEO

In August of the same year, a report stated that Apple internally believed that Cook wanted to continue developing a more important new product category, namely potential augmented reality glasses. But with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, it's debatable whether the headset meets that requirement.

A few years later, in November 2023, Cook updated his remarks about his departure, saying that there were indeed multiple succession plans underway at the same time. Part of the reason is that Cook “could go the wrong way tomorrow,” the CEO joked. “Hopefully this doesn't happen.”

When asked who would succeed him, he did not name anyone but said there were a number of possibilities. Additionally, he admitted that he does want “the next CEO to come from within Apple. So my job is to make sure there are several candidates for the board to choose from.” Cook's remarks aside, before Apple officially makes this fateful announcement , it’s almost impossible to know exactly who will be the new CEO.

Here are the top contenders to succeed Cook as CEO.

First echelon:Jeff Williams、Craig Federighi和Greg “Joz” Joswiak

The most likely choices are those at the top of the company, especially those who have an important influence on Apple's future development.

Jeff Williams currently serves as chief operating officer, a critical role that Cook also held before succeeding Steve Jobs. So it's very likely that he will succeed as CEO, especially considering that this role is so critical to everything Apple does.

Jeff Williams, Apple COO

Among this group of candidates, Williams has not been working at Apple the longest. He joined Apple in 1998 and was a key figure in the birth of the first-generation iPhone and Apple Watch.

What works against Williams is his age. If Cook leaves the company ten years after announcing his resignation, he will be 70 years old and Williams will be 68, so it is unlikely that the COO will stay on for a long time.

Another top pick could be Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering.He helped drive the development of Apple software, and hishold officeThe history goes back to NeXT.

Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering

Federighi is also one of Apple's biggest names, and his appearances at Apple events sometimes become memes. After the outspoken Jobs and the cool-headed Cook, the board may be more willing to pick someone with a lively personality.

Age has also served the senior vice president of software well. If Cook leaves in ten years, Federighi will be 61, which could be a good opportunity for the executive.

Then there’s Greg “Joz” Joswiak. The senior vice president of worldwide marketing joined Apple in 1986, helped launch the original iPod, helped build the first iPhone, and appeared at several Apple keynotes.

Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing

His 30 years of experience in Apple's marketing department is also a big plus for a company known for advertising. However, Cook's age of 66 when he leaves does put him in a bit of a middle ground when considering his potential tenure.

All three could easily fill the CEO role, and their personalities and experience would be well-received by investors and employees.

Second tier:Eddy Cue、Phil Schiller

Of course, there are more than three candidates for CEO, and both Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller are capable of doing the same thing. Both have held important positions at the company since the days of Steve Jobs, but they may be beaten by the top three.

Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President, Internet Software and Services

For his part, Cue is senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, responsible for Apple's services business. This business has become one of the company's most important sources of revenue and continues to expand.

As an employee who joined in 1989, Cue has a wealth of work experience, but considering that Cook will be 66 years old when he leaves ten years later, he is a choice sooner rather than later.

Phil Schiller, Apple Partner

Schiller has a similarly long history at Apple, having worked on the company's product and marketing sides for three decades. As head of the App Store and Apple events, he's also involved in a very critical part of the Apple empire.

Schiller's advantage is that he's not a senior vice president: He's an Apple Fellow, which means he doesn't have a huge role within the company. This could be good for Schiller because it means he can more easily step into the CEO role without affecting the positions of other executives.

However, age is a disadvantage. Schiller will likely be 70 by the time Cook leaves, making his role as CEO a bit trickier.

Third echelon:Deirdre O’Brien、Johny Srouji、Lisa Jackson

The four men below are all key figures on Apple's executive team and remain viable options for the board, but not necessarily the most likely choices for CEO.

Deirdre O'Brien is senior vice president of retail, where she is responsible for renovating and opening new stores around the world as well as managing Apple's online team. She also worked at Apple for more than 30 years and has been involved in every Apple product launch since joining. Her experience as a people director will also be of great benefit when working with employees.

Deirdre O'Brien, Senior Vice President, Retail

Johny Srouji is Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies and played a key role in creating the chip and technology engineering teams. His team helped Apple's products become faster, smaller, and more power-efficient, while the A-series chips and Apple Silicon were of epoch-making significance. He joined Apple in 2008 to help make chips, which wasn't a very long tenure compared to others, but the impact his work had on the company was certainly in his favor.

Johny Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technology

Lisa Jackson is vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, which doesn't sound like a good fit to be the CEO of the world's largest tech company. Her time at Apple in 2013 also seems short compared to others, perhaps even too short. However, she served as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before joining Apple, giving her management experience that no one else can match. She also made appearances at Apple launches, which gave her considerable visibility among the public.

Lisa Jackson, Senior Vice President, Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives

Finally, John Ternus is Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, a position he moves to in 2021 after serving as vice president of hardware engineering since 2013. He has been working on Apple's product design team since 2021 and has participated in the design of every generation and model of iPad as well as iPhone and AirPods.

John Ternus, Senior Vice President, Hardware Engineering

Ternus is the de facto face of Apple's chip transformation, and his age also benefits him a lot. Ternus graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997, is in his 40s, is one of the youngest candidates, and has been working in the company for a long time.

other possible candidates

At many companies, it's very easy to name a new CEO from an existing roster of senior vice presidents, vice presidents, and C-suite executives. Everyone at these levels has proven on the job that they are capable of fulfilling the role.

But one of the problems for other members of Apple's leadership is that they aren't well-known enough to be seriously considered for positions at the world's largest company. As a large household name, Apple's keynotes and product launches are global news, so Apple needs a new CEO, and that new CEO preferably is a well-known figure who can easily do the job. this position.

Apple CFO Luca Maestri[右]Known for Apple's quarterly earnings conference calls

The other real problem is that it seems unlikely that these job changes will help the company much. For example, it's hard to imagine Luca Maestri transitioning from being Apple's financial backbone to becoming Apple's new CEO because of his close ties to Apple's accounting work.

So does John Giannandrea. His role as senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy, and his extensive experience in the field, are arguably better suited to advance Apple's artificial intelligence and machine learning goals.

The same is true for Katherine Adams, who serves as senior vice president of legal and global security. Although Adams is high up in the corporate chain and plays an important role in safeguarding intellectual property, litigation and corporate governance, she may be considered more suitable for her current role.

Sometimes, potential candidates may be excluded because they would serve the company's needs better in their role than as CEO. In addition, those who are likely to leave their jobs in the near future will also be excluded.

unstable factor: Former employees and external candidates

Apple will most likely choose someone with qualifications who has “lived” at Apple for a long time as CEO. This is especially true given Cook's hopes for the next board of directors.

Former Apple design director Jony Ive has a chance to become CEO

However, Apple may also seek help from outside the company. Among the six CEOs who preceded Cook are former PepsiCo CEO John Sculley, who helped propel the company with his marketing skills; and former National Semiconductor CEO Gil Amelio, who served on Apple's board of directors for two years before becoming CEO.

Apple could convince another CEO or senior executive with the right skills to jump into the role to restructure the company. But then again, Apple's board of directors and investors don't necessarily want to shake things up too much.

Former Apple executives have also emerged as potential candidates.

Angela Ahrendts, a former senior vice president of retail, has led Burberry for eight years and has experience leading industry giants. But at the same time, she is the same age as Cook, which creates tenure issues.

Then there's Jony Ive, the famous designer synonymous with Apple. However, judging by the circumstances of his departure from Apple and the freedom he has to run his own design company, LoveFrom, it is unlikely that he will return to Apple.

Summarize

Apple's board may find it a difficult task to bring in someone from the outside to take the helm. Maybe it's impossible.

But then again, with so many good internal candidates available, picking the best fit can be just as difficult.

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