<p>San Francisco: Apple said Monday that Tim Cook, its longtime CEO, would step down in September and be succeeded by John Ternus, the head of hardware engineering. Since Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple 50 years ago and wowed the world with its computers, the company’s corner office has been a seat of technological power.</p><p>Here’s who has led Apple as CEO through the years.</p>.<p>The year after Jobs and Wozniak, then in their 20s, founded Apple, Scott, who worked at two of Silicon Valley’s pioneering semiconductor companies, Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor, was hired to act as an adult in the room. In an interview with Business Insider in 2011, Scott said his remit had been to “handle the details,” including “getting us into the manufacturing and all the rest of the business parts.”</p>.<p>Markkula, the first angel investor in and chair of Apple, was known as the third co-founder of the company, alongside Jobs and Wozniak. During his time as CEO, Markkula also contributed his technical knack, writing several of the early software programs for the company’s first popular computer, the Apple II.</p><p>“Mike was a tremendous contributor,” said Floyd Kvamme, an early marketing executive at Apple, in a 1997 interview with The New York Times. “But he didn’t like the public eye. He liked worrying about products.”</p>.<p>Sculley joined Apple from Pepsi, where he was a marketing executive and then president. Over his decade leading the company, Apple’s sales increased from $800 million to $8 billion. He and Jobs eventually entered a power struggle over the management and future direction of Apple, leading to Jobs’ departure from the company in 1985.</p>.<p>Spindler, previously Apple’s chief operating officer, became a lightning rod for customer and investor frustration with the company. During his tenure, Apple regularly predicted demand for its products incorrectly, lost market share and engaged in a price war that cut into its profits.</p><p>“My personality played over the facts in that situation,” Spindler said in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle in 1996, months after Apple’s board of directors fired him.</p>.<p>Amelio, who had been president of National Semiconductor and a member of Apple’s board, stepped in as CEO when Apple was in financial free fall. He cut costs, discontinued projects including an operating system and laid off about a third of its workforce. Under Amelio, Apple bought NeXT, the computer startup founded by Jobs after his ouster in 1985, for $427 million to replace the operating system it had cut.</p>.<p>Jobs, who had cofounded Apple when he was 21 years old, was the company’s most iconic CEO. He did not get there without struggles.</p><p>After Apple’s board of directors removed Jobs in 1985 following his clash with Sculley, he founded NeXT, a computer startup focused on higher education and professionals. When he returned to Apple in 1997, he revived the company’s flagging fortunes and put it on a path toward astonishing growth.</p><p>Upon his return to Apple, Jobs oversaw the creation of a series of innovative devices: the iMac, the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone. These devices led to an upheaval of consumer electronics and transformed whole industries, including music and telecommunications.</p>.<p>After Jobs died in 2011 from cancer, his longtime deputy Cook became CEO. Cook had joined Apple in 1998 from computer maker Compaq. He became its chief operating officer in 2007, transforming how Apple managed its product inventory and creating the global operations that made possible the annual production of hundreds of millions of devices.</p><p>With Cook at the helm, Apple ballooned into a giant worth more than $4 trillion, with more than $110 billion in annual revenue. He also revolutionized the company’s supply chain, expanded its services business and made inroads in Washington and China.</p>.<p>Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001 and rose through its ranks as he oversaw the development of its Macs and iPads. He became Apple’s head of hardware in 2021 and will start as its CEO in September.</p>
<p>San Francisco: Apple said Monday that Tim Cook, its longtime CEO, would step down in September and be succeeded by John Ternus, the head of hardware engineering. Since Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple 50 years ago and wowed the world with its computers, the company’s corner office has been a seat of technological power.</p><p>Here’s who has led Apple as CEO through the years.</p>.<p>The year after Jobs and Wozniak, then in their 20s, founded Apple, Scott, who worked at two of Silicon Valley’s pioneering semiconductor companies, Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor, was hired to act as an adult in the room. In an interview with Business Insider in 2011, Scott said his remit had been to “handle the details,” including “getting us into the manufacturing and all the rest of the business parts.”</p>.<p>Markkula, the first angel investor in and chair of Apple, was known as the third co-founder of the company, alongside Jobs and Wozniak. During his time as CEO, Markkula also contributed his technical knack, writing several of the early software programs for the company’s first popular computer, the Apple II.</p><p>“Mike was a tremendous contributor,” said Floyd Kvamme, an early marketing executive at Apple, in a 1997 interview with The New York Times. “But he didn’t like the public eye. He liked worrying about products.”</p>.<p>Sculley joined Apple from Pepsi, where he was a marketing executive and then president. Over his decade leading the company, Apple’s sales increased from $800 million to $8 billion. He and Jobs eventually entered a power struggle over the management and future direction of Apple, leading to Jobs’ departure from the company in 1985.</p>.<p>Spindler, previously Apple’s chief operating officer, became a lightning rod for customer and investor frustration with the company. During his tenure, Apple regularly predicted demand for its products incorrectly, lost market share and engaged in a price war that cut into its profits.</p><p>“My personality played over the facts in that situation,” Spindler said in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle in 1996, months after Apple’s board of directors fired him.</p>.<p>Amelio, who had been president of National Semiconductor and a member of Apple’s board, stepped in as CEO when Apple was in financial free fall. He cut costs, discontinued projects including an operating system and laid off about a third of its workforce. Under Amelio, Apple bought NeXT, the computer startup founded by Jobs after his ouster in 1985, for $427 million to replace the operating system it had cut.</p>.<p>Jobs, who had cofounded Apple when he was 21 years old, was the company’s most iconic CEO. He did not get there without struggles.</p><p>After Apple’s board of directors removed Jobs in 1985 following his clash with Sculley, he founded NeXT, a computer startup focused on higher education and professionals. When he returned to Apple in 1997, he revived the company’s flagging fortunes and put it on a path toward astonishing growth.</p><p>Upon his return to Apple, Jobs oversaw the creation of a series of innovative devices: the iMac, the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone. These devices led to an upheaval of consumer electronics and transformed whole industries, including music and telecommunications.</p>.<p>After Jobs died in 2011 from cancer, his longtime deputy Cook became CEO. Cook had joined Apple in 1998 from computer maker Compaq. He became its chief operating officer in 2007, transforming how Apple managed its product inventory and creating the global operations that made possible the annual production of hundreds of millions of devices.</p><p>With Cook at the helm, Apple ballooned into a giant worth more than $4 trillion, with more than $110 billion in annual revenue. He also revolutionized the company’s supply chain, expanded its services business and made inroads in Washington and China.</p>.<p>Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001 and rose through its ranks as he oversaw the development of its Macs and iPads. He became Apple’s head of hardware in 2021 and will start as its CEO in September.</p>