Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about something that has never been mentioned before in a podcast - Apple has a very detailed succession plan. Cook said he hopes the next CEO will come from within the company. Since its incorporation in 1977, Apple has had seven CEOs. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs's revolutionary ideas, Apple has become a highly competitive consumer electronics company; while Cook has taken Apple to unreachable heights: its market value has continuously exceeded US$1 trillion, US$2 trillion, and US$3 trillion, making it the most valuable company in the world.
The thought of Cook's inevitable retirement is enough to make Apple investors shudder. As the top leader of a company, the change of CEO is one of the most nerve-wracking events that any company must go through. It will inevitably bring uncertainty. If a different product concept is introduced as a result, a large number of loyal customers may be lost, and the stock price will also experience violent shocks.
However, Cook said he plans to stay at Apple "for a while" and revealed that Apple has developed a "very detailed succession plan." When asked about potential candidates, Cook said only that he hoped the next CEO would come from within the company and that there was "more than one possibility."
Media analysts believe that if Cook’s statement that “the next CEO will come from within” is true, then the potential candidates are actually not that broad. Based on speculations from industry insiders, the most likely successors are mainly concentrated on the following four executives:
The first is Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, the silver-haired executive who can often be seen at product launches. Not only is he a frequent and recognizable figure, he is also a key member of the leadership team within the company.
Federighi is responsible for one of Apple's most important products - iOS, the iPhone's operating system, and macOS, the computer operating system. iOS can be said to be the company's main money-making platform. But Federighi is not only a software expert, he is also known as Apple's best speaker, which is especially important when it comes to CEO.
In addition, the 56-year-old Drigi is still the youngest on the four-person list, which means that he can work as CEO for a longer period of time. After Cook retires, employees may want to see long-term stability for the company rather than appoint a CEO who will retire in five years.
It can be said that no one on the list knows Apple better than Greg Joswiak. The 60-year-old senior vice president of global marketing joined the company in June 1986, which means that he has worked at Apple for 37 years and has witnessed the ups and downs of the company.
Joswick helped Steve Jobs' Apple develop the original iPod and iPhone, products that were the cornerstone of the company's return to the top. Analysts believe that Joswick has experience in the company's development so far, and he understands what is useful or useless for the company, customers, and shareholders.
Overall, Joeswick's biggest advantage is his intimate knowledge of the company, and as the head of global marketing, his ability to sell Apple's vision should be among the best. The best CEOs are masters at communicating a unified vision for their company to employees and customers, and Joswick has all the skills he needs to be the next leader.
At present, Apple is more than just a hardware company. The App Store and others have become the company's key business projects, and Eddy Cue, the senior vice president of services who leads all this, is also one of the popular candidates for the next CEO.
In fiscal year 2023, digital projects such as AppStore, iCloud Plus, and Apple Music have brought Apple $85.2 billion in revenue, becoming the largest revenue category after the iPhone. The credit for these successful cases should naturally go to Cue.
It should be noted that compared with hardware, the revenue generated by software services is recurring, and the profit margin in this regard is significantly higher. Like Joswick, Cue has worked at Apple for a long time (24 years), and his product experience is naturally no less than anyone on the list.
The last major candidate is Apple's current chief operating officer Jeff Williams, who is responsible for Apple's entire supply chain and operations, from manufacturing, parts procurement to technical support. Considering the annual shipments of hardware products such as iPhones, Williams' importance to the company is self-evident.
It is worth mentioning that Williams was the company's COO before Cook became CEO, and the company profile also states that he "has led global operations for all products since 2010." Additionally, he oversees the hardware and software teams for the watch, including the health features built into the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Media analysis said that judging from Apple’s entry into the health field, Williams understands better than anyone how to use small functions to drive big business. Given that he also has an engineering background, that means he's probably at least as qualified as Cook was when he was Apple CEO. The disadvantage is that he is only three years younger than Cook.
Overall, these four candidates are at the top of the list of successors, but options outside the list or outside the company are also possible. However, if Apple chooses to "hire" a CEO, it may have a huge blow to employees, investors and loyal customer base.
In addition, whether to serve as the next CEO also depends on the willingness of the successor, because some people may prefer their current positions, and others may not want to bear the pressure of succeeding Jobs and Cook. In this regard, Cook said in the podcast that he originally did not want to become Apple's CEO. At that time, it was beyond the scope of his dreams.
"But it happens, and I imagine it can happen to other people."