As Apple turns 50 in April, CEO Tim Cook says: I promise…
Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed the company is planning a celebration to mark its 50th anniversary this April, telling employees he’s been “unusually reflective” about the milestone.“When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart sing. It really does. I promise some celebration,” Cook said during an all-hands meeting on Thursday, as reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in a garage in Los Altos, California. The company has since grown into the world’s most valuable publicly traded firm, with over 2.5 billion active devices worldwide.
Cook gets philosophical about succession and retirement
The 50th anniversary reflections weren’t the only thing on Cook’s mind. The 65-year-old CEO also opened up about leadership transitions, saying he spends considerable time thinking about who will steer Apple in the future.“I am obsessed with this—who’s in the room 15 years from now,” Cook said, per Bloomberg. He described the recent retirements of COO Jeff Williams, environmental affairs head Lisa Jackson, and general counsel Katie Adams as carefully planned moves, “not surprises.”Hardware chief John Ternus is widely seen as a frontrunner to eventually succeed Cook, having recently expanded his oversight to include design work at Apple.
A record-breaking quarter sets the stage
The anniversary comes at a strong moment for Apple financially. The company just posted its biggest quarter ever with $143.8 billion in revenue, fuelled by a 23% jump in iPhone sales. Cook called the demand “simply staggering” during the recent earnings call, with records set across every geographic region.Cook also used Thursday’s meeting to address immigration concerns among employees and talk up Apple’s AI ambitions, calling artificial intelligence “one of the most profound opportunities of our entire lifetime.”While details of the 50th anniversary plans remain under wraps, Apple marked its 40th in 2016 with a video compressing four decades of innovation into 40 seconds. Whatever Cook has planned this time, the stage is certainly set for something bigger.
