Tim Cook and Walter Isaacson Named to TIME's List of 100 Most Influential People

time 2012 influential coverTIME magazine today released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and two of the selections have close ties to Apple: CEO Tim Cook and Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson.

Each selection is accompanied by an essay by another prominent personality or close associate outlining why the person qualifies for inclusion in the list. The essay on Cook is written by former vice president Al Gore, who has served on Apple's board of directors since 2003.

It is difficult to imagine a harder challenge than following the legendary Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple. Yet Tim Cook, a soft-spoken, genuinely humble and quietly intense son of an Alabama shipyard worker and a homemaker, hasn't missed a single beat.

Fiercely protective of Jobs' legacy and deeply immersed in Apple's culture, Cook, 51, has already led the world's most valuable and innovative company to new heights while implementing major policy changes smoothly and brilliantly.

He has indelibly imprinted his leadership on all areas of Apple — from managing its complex inner workings to identifying and shepherding new "insanely great" technology and design breakthroughs into the product pipeline.

Isaacson, a former editor of TIME, is profiled by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who points to his trio of biographies covering Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs for their impact on understanding key figures in history.

This is influence of the best species, educating us while demonstrating the continued fascination of the seriously examined life, rendered by Isaacson with the objectivity of a true historian and the flair of a born storyteller. But what most separates Isaacson, 59, from would-be peers is his wisdom in choosing subjects whose individual talents have affected all our lives.

TIME's 2012 list of the world's most influential people is the magazine's cover story for next week's issue and highlights representatives in five different categories: breakouts, pioneers, moguls, leaders, and icons.

Top Rated Comments

gri Avatar
156 months ago
Cook - ok; but Isaacson? Nothing against him but where does he influence the world by writing bios? These are on important people, granted, but still. Zuckerberg would be more important as Facebook clearly changed things, also Twitter (and I have no account with either).
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dreyrugr Avatar
156 months ago
Time's lists are the result of uncontrolled, unscientific online polling of a self selecting population.

They are entirely meaningless.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imageWIS Avatar
156 months ago
Cook - ok; but Isaacson? Nothing against him but where does he influence the world by writing bios? These are on important people, granted, but still. Zuckerman would be more important as Facebook clearly changed things, also Twitter (and I have no account with either)

It's Zuckerberg.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdowns Avatar
156 months ago
Pardon me but I don't want to live in a world where Rihanna makes a 100 Most Influential People list.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imageWIS Avatar
156 months ago
Walter Isaacson? Really??
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Trauma1 Avatar
156 months ago
I just don't see how Tim Cook has been that influential. I know he has stepped in as CEO previously, but he's still new to the role.
But he was COO for many, many years.

His specialty is supply chain management. It was Cook that said "inventory is fundamentally evil". It was Cook that slashed inventory levels down to six days, instead of months.

A lot of the successful operational strategies the company has been using fell under Cook's domain, not Jobs.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...