Apple CEO Tim Cook Successor Plans Revealed

Apple CEO Cook still has three years of contract, but the company seems to have already considered the personnel arrangements for the next CEO.

Jiemian News reported that the 63-year-old Cook admitted in a recent interview that he has considered his successor and decided to look for his successor from within the company. He is currently working hard to provide the board of directors with several options.

Cook spoke lightly about leaving Apple. He said that he is currently formulating multiple succession plans: “We have a very detailed succession plan. Because some unpredictable things will always happen, I may take the wrong path tomorrow. Of course, Still hope this doesn’t happen.” When asked “who his successor is,” Cook declined to name any names, saying there was more than one possibility.

In 2021, Cook has already told the outside world that he will leave Apple within the next 10 years, but did not disclose a specific timetable. It seems that the man at the helm who has led Apple to exceed US$3 trillion has gradually become mentally prepared to leave his post.

Apple has more than 100,000 employees around the world, and its products are sold in more than 90% of the world. It often affects the stock market… It is such a behemoth. After Cook, who will be the next captain?

Since Cook has stated that he will choose the CEO from within the company, he is most likely to take on the role of a senior executive at Apple. In a report, well-known Apple whistleblower Mark Gurman speculated on the candidates who may take over as CEO, with current chief operating officer (COO) Jeff Williams being highlighted.

The 60-year-old Williams is an out-and-out “Apple veteran”. He was Apple’s chief operating officer before Cook became CEO in 2011. He is responsible for Apple’s entire supply chain and operations, from manufacturing, parts procurement to technical support. This is also the ability that Cook, nicknamed “Supply Chain Master”, values ​​most.

Williams is also involved in day-to-day development of all Apple hardware and oversees the Apple Watch hardware and software teams. The most effective KPI at present is Apple’s health field, including the built-in health functions of iPhone and Apple Watch.

The only regret is that Williams is only 3 years younger than Cook. If Cook decides to execute his three-year contract, Williams’ chance will be small.

For the first company in history with a market capitalization of 3 trillion, becoming the helmsman is not an easy task. The most famous case was in September 1985, when the board of directors and outside investors jointly drove Jobs out of Apple.

In addition to Jobs, PepsiCo President John Sculley, who was lured by Steve Jobs’s famous saying “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world?” also announced new products 14 months in advance because of pressure from Apple’s board of directors. , giving competitors enough time to make cheaper products. In the end, Sculley sadly left Apple with a severance package.

Before Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, internal struggles among Apple’s top executives were notoriously fierce. Later, because Jobs released a series of epoch-making products such as the iPod and iPhone, Apple quickly grew into the world’s largest company, and Apple’s board of directors gradually ceased and power was delegated to the CEO.

Cook is hailed as the most suitable CEO for Apple. Since taking over as Apple CEO in 2011, Cook has demonstrated outstanding leadership capabilities, especially in marketing, supply chain management, marketing and brand building. He has made remarkable achievements. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple has gained huge market influence, with a market value once reaching US$3 trillion.

Even so, Cook will inevitably have to “fight” with the board of directors.

Apple shareholder organizations have filed a motion to oppose Cook’s appointment to the board of directors, which shows their dissatisfaction and distrust of Cook. In February this year, the National Law and Policy Center (NLPC) submitted a separate exemption solicitation urging Apple shareholders to oppose Cook’s reappointment to the board of directors.

In 2021, Cook caused controversy within the company because of his excessive annual salary. This ultimately led to a vote by Apple’s board of directors, with 64% of directors choosing to vote in favor of Cook’s compensation plan. This year, Cook’s annual salary has been significantly reduced. Compared with his total salary last year, it was more than 40% lower. The specific reason is unknown.

Apple said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that its board of directors “considered shareholder feedback and Cook recommendations” when determining executive compensation. It seems that there is still the shadow of the board of directors behind Cook’s salary cut.

According to Apple’s plan, Cook will step down as CEO in 2026, but news about his departure and successor have been frequently exposed. It is not known whether Cook can persist until 2026. However, the next Apple CEO will still have to work under the supervision and constraints of the board of directors and will face more performance requirements and pressure.

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Prigozin, the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner Group, died in a plane crash at the end of August, which attracted strong attention from the international community. The cause of the crash remains a mystery.

The American media “Wall Street Journal” broke the news on December 22, citing Western intelligence officials and a former Russian intelligence official as saying that Prigozin, “Russia’s second most powerful figure”, died in an assassination that took two months to prepare. Putin’s “senior ally” Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, was the driving force behind the plan and approved the plan.

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov responded to this on the same day, criticizing the report as being like a “pulp novel” and not worthy of official attention or comment.

The Wall Street Journal stated that on the evening of August 23, a private plane flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed midway, killing all 10 people on board. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency subsequently released the name information of all crew members and passengers, including Prigozin and other Wagner Organization personnel.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a small explosive device was placed under the wing of Prigozin’s Legacy 600 private jet during a safety inspection that day. The plane took off for about 30 minutes and climbed to 28,000 feet (approximately After reaching an altitude of 8,530 meters, the wing of the aircraft was blown off, eventually causing the aircraft to crash and killing everyone. Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, was the “operator” of this assassination.

According to the report, Patrushev has long warned Putin that Moscow’s over-reliance on Wagner mercenaries in the Russia-Ukraine battlefield has given Prigozin too much political and military influence, which in turn has posed a threat to the Kremlin. .

While participating in the special military operation against Ukraine, Prigozin repeatedly criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense on the grounds of weapons and supplies, and openly criticized the “incompetence” and “treason” of the top Russian military officials. On June 23, Prigozin accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of attacking the Wagner rear camp and launched a “March for Justice” on the grounds of demanding the dismissal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. His Wagner armed personnel quickly advanced towards Moscow.

The Wall Street Journal stated that at that time, “Patrushev stepped up to the plate and withstood the biggest challenge Putin had faced in more than 20 years. Still in the midst of the crisis, Patrushev saw an opportunity to eradicate Prigozhin forever. .”

Citing assessments from Western intelligence agencies and a former Russian intelligence official, the report said that as Wagner approached Moscow, Patrushev took over and arranged a series of phone calls to prompt Prigozin to withdraw his troops. He asked Russian officers sympathetic to Prigozhin to try to get in touch with him, while he kept trying to find a mediator and made calls to Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Eventually, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko agreed to help, relaying messages between Prigozin and Moscow, with a condition drawn up by Patrushev: If Prigozin transferred his troops, his men would be Allowed to flee to Belarus.

The report stated that after the “Wagner incident”, Prigozin still traveled between St. Petersburg, Moscow and surrounding areas of Russia, which meant that he was not subject to any public restrictions, but was “actually still under the strict surveillance of the authorities.” Later, in early August, Patrushev ordered his aides to develop an operation to “dispose” of Prigozhin.

Patrushev is a senior intelligence officer who, like Putin, entered the intelligence services of the former Soviet Union in the 1970s.

When Yeltsin appointed Putin as prime minister in 1999, Putin recommended Patrushev to succeed him in leading the KGB’s successor organization, the Federal Security Service. In 2008, Patrushev was appointed Secretary of the Federal Security Council from Director of the Federal Security Service. “The position has little formal power, but Patrushev’s personal prestige, close relationship with Putin and his important role as head of the security services for more than 20 years have made him the second most powerful person in Russia,” the report said. figure. “

According to reports, in the summer of 2022, Patrushev began to issue warnings to Putin about Prigozin. But as Wagner advanced on the battlefield, these warnings were ignored.

“The situation changed when Prigozin called Putin and complained rudely about his lack of supplies.” A former Russian intelligence official who has worked with Putin and Patrushev said that the call took place in 2022 In October, everyone in the office, including Patrushev, “heard Prigozhin, a former catering contractor, berating their president.”

Patrushev saw the call as a reason for Putin to distance himself from Prigozhin: the warlord had become dangerous and lacked respect for Kremlin authority.

According to a TASS news agency report on December 22, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov responded to the above-mentioned report by the Wall Street Journal and said that this article should be classified as a sensational literary genre such as “pulp fiction.”

“Unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal has been increasingly interested in pulp fiction recently,” Peskov told reporters. He also said the Kremlin was familiar with the article but would not comment on it because of the dubious nature of the news. The coverage hardly merited official attention or comment.

On October 5, when talking about the Prigozin crash, Putin said that the Russian Investigative Committee found grenade fragments in the remains of the victims, but the crashed plane did not suffer external impact, and the relevant investigation is still ongoing. On October 6, Peskov said that the final investigation results of the Prigozin crash had not yet been submitted. No further news was announced after that.

It is indeed an interesting question whether the report of Prigozhin’s assassination by Putin’s men is a piece of pulp fiction or an investigative report that reveals the truth. However, everyone always feels that Prigozin’s challenge to Putin in this way is always an act of seeking death.

2023-12-23 03:58:25
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