Tim Cook, Apple CEO
By Bolaji Ojo
What’s at stake: After 14 years as CEO at Apple Inc., during which he drove its market value sky high, Tim Cook at 64 years old, is closer than ever to the handing over of one of the most coveted executive roles in the tech industry. Apple must assess the skills and experience of not just Cook but also those of its other senior executives to make sure they are prepared to meet changing market requirements and corporate objectives. Can Cook vouch for himself in this disruptive AI environment?
Two seemingly unconnected but equally seminal events happened to Apple Inc. this week. On Wednesday, the company announced Sabih Khan as a replacement for Jeff Williams, who will retire this month as chief operating officer, but will stay at Apple for several more months before finally retiring.
Secondly, artificial intelligence processor and software market leader Nvidia Corp. became the first company to cross the $4 trillion market value threshold, beating Apple, which had raced ahead of other publicly traded companies to the $1 trillion and $3 trillion capitalization marks. Nvidia’s market value rose to $3.97 trillion while Apple ended at $3.13 trillion.
These two events may appear unconnected, but a closer look indicates Apple is a common thread. The company remains a star in the technology universe, but – compared with Nvidia – it is slowly fading and burning out of gas. In galactic terms, is Apple, once the dominant star of the technology galaxy, now turning into a satellite orbiting the Nvidia supernova?