When legendary Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011, long-time Apple supply chain executive Tim Cook had already been appointed to take his place. That was 14 years ago. Cook, now 65 and Apple’s longest-serving CEO, steered the company through successful product releases and the benchmark feat of becoming the first $1 trillion valued company in 2018, but strong rumors suggest that he’ll be retiring next year. The company is certainly deep in succession planning, and this may prompt you to ponder long-term leadership plans for your own company. It’s an especially timely issue in a moment where the pressures of being a CEO keep increasing in a complex business environment.
The Financial Times reported this weekend that preparations for Cook to step down were accelerating, per company insiders who said both board and senior executives are involved with the effort. Apple is now a roughly $4 trillion company with a global presence, so this is no ordinary job. The FT says that John Ternus, currently acting as senior vice-president of hardware engineering is “widely” seen as the most likely executive to replace Cook. Though no final decisions have apparently been made, Ternus has deep knowledge of the tech giant’s operations and has appeared many times on stage during high-profile Apple hardware releases.
Cook’s stepping aside is not related to Apple’s performance, the FT notes, with the company widely expected to see hugely successful sales of its just-released iPhone 17 range. Cook is known to have strong preferences for an internal candidate, remarking as much when speaking with musical artist Dua Lipa on her November 2023 podcast.
Covering the news, Axios argues that Cook’s departure may be symbolic of the end of the “star” CEO. Although Cook isn’t as high-profile as his predecessor, his tenure as chief executive saw Apple become a global tech leader. Other boldface-name CEOs are also set to depart soon, with Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon all “preparing to leave the stage,” as Axios notes. The news outlet points out there are now an “unusual number of globally iconic brands” seeking new leadership. It’s possible that the complex legal, societal, political and technological winds swirling around the U.S., particularly with fast-evolving AI technology in mind, are playing a part in this CEO switcheroo.
A new report at Fortune may underline this theory. In surveying the world’s top 200 corporate chiefs from the Fortune 500 for a book, senior partners at global management consulting outfit McKinsey uncovered the thinking and methodology of these company leaders, finding that 68 percent said they felt “ill prepared” to become CEO even as they stepped into the role and that 30 percent of CEOs don’t stay past the first three years. The role of CEO may also be becoming more important, and also perhaps more tenuous—more at the whim of influences like activist investors—than before.
Fortune notes that this means chief execs are typically juggling “roughly twice as many issues” as they would have had to just five to seven years ago. That time period is well within Cook’s tenure as Apple CEO, for example, and in that time Apple has faced numerous high-profile challenges including the covid pandemic, billion dollar-scale lawsuits and a high-profile miss in the multitrillion race for AI market share.
What’s the big takeaway for your company?
While you may be comfortable with your leadership team right now, maintaining a rigorous medium-term succession plan may be a good idea. Unexpected illnesses, aging executive team members and other occurrences both planned and unplanned may mean you need to look for new C-suite members without much of a warning. Deciding whether you want to promote someone from inside the company, someone steeped in its culture and way of working, or whether you want to hire a “new broom” external candidate is probably a good start. Having long-term discussions with possible candidates earlier rather than later also shows that you have the stability of the company in mind in ways that will reassure your workforce and investors.
Kit Eaton
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