Apple CEO Tim Cook said he has determined his successor will come from within the company and is working to provide the board with multiple options. Tim Cook said in 2021 that he might leave Apple within the next decade. Any company would have such a plan, but Apple, which has been criticized for being secretive about its search for Jobs's successor, has yet to speak publicly about Cook's successor.
Now, Tim Cook revealed in an interview with the BBC podcast "Dua Lipa: At Your Service" that Apple is working on multiple succession plans.
"Right now, we're a company that believes in having a succession plan," he said. "So we have a very detailed succession plan. Because unpredictable things can always happen and I might go down the wrong path tomorrow. Hopefully that doesn't happen."
Interviewer Dua Lipa asked Cook who his successor would be. Although Cook refused to name anyone, he revealed that there was more than one possibility.
"I can't say [name]," he said. "But I would say my job is to prepare a few people with the ability to take over."
"I really want the next CEO to come from within Apple," he continued, "so it's my job to make sure we have a few people on the board."
Cook wouldn't elaborate on his statement about leaving within a decade, and Lipa asked him if he would stay at Apple in 2050 to understand the impact of the company's environmental efforts.
"2050 might be a bit of an exaggeration," he said. "I don't know how long I'll be there." I love it there and I can't imagine life without it. So I'll be there for a while."