Tim-Cook-AmsterdamApple CEO Tim Cook has been named as one of several tech industry executives that will speak at Startup Fest Europe, a festival geared towards helping startups grow faster, according to the event website.

Tim Cook (Apple) and Travis Kalanick (Uber) have accepted their invitation to come to the Netherlands with great enthusiasm. Neelie Kroes (special envoy StartupDelta) personally invited Cook and Kalanick during her visit to San Francisco together with Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Cook is scheduled to speak on Tuesday, May 24 at 11:10 a.m. local time for approximately 35 minutes. The topic of the discussion has not been revealed, but Cook will likely reflect on his CEO role and operational background at Apple since joining the company in 1998.

Other international keynote speakers scheduled to speak on May 24 include Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, Uber co-founder/CEO Travis Kalanick, Seedcamp co-founder Reshma Sohoni, Adyen co-founder Pieter van der Does, Elastic co-founder/CEO Steven Schuurman, Booking.com COO Gillian Tans, The Netherlands P.M. Mark Rutte, European Commission VP Andrus Ansip, and Atomico partner Mattias Ljungman.

Cook has maintained a busy agenda this month, starting with appearances on CNBC's Mad Money and at Met Gala 2016 on Monday. He will also reportedly visit Beijing later in May to meet with high-level Chinese government officials as Apple looks to counter a series of recent setbacks in the country. Meanwhile, a recent charity auction for a one-hour lunch date with Cook raised more than $500,000 for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The lunch will take place by May 5, 2017.

Startup Fest Europe takes place between May 24-28 in Amsterdam.

(Thanks, Maarten!)

Top Rated Comments

ArtOfWarfare Avatar
124 months ago
What part of Tim Cook's resume makes it seem like he's a good fit for being the keynote speaker of a startup event?

1978-1982: BS in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University
1982-1986: IBM
1986-1988: MBA from Duke
1988-1996: More IBM (Ultimately rose to director of NA PC fulfillment)
1996-1998: Compaq (Ultimately rose to VP of Corporate Supplies)
1998-?: Apple (Ultimately rose to CEO)

It seems to me that all of these positions are great for giving you experience in managing large, established companies...

None of it gives you experience in managing a startup, securing financing, getting an audience, hiring your initial team, not running out of money, and ultimately how to transfer from being a wobbly startup to being an established company.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like how you should properly manage one is not how you should properly manage the other.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arran Avatar
124 months ago
That cover reminds me of a horror movie from the 80s "starring Tim Cook as Freddy Krueger"
Reminds me of:

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
124 months ago
Two of the dullest Keynote speakers of our time. Tim is great behind the scenes but is abysmal as a public speaker. He has the charisma of a white wall drying in a white room.
haha i have to agree. the way he talks is torture to my ears.

"toniiiiiiiiiight we are going to show youuuuuuu incredible things we have been working oooooooon"
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tw1ll Avatar
124 months ago
Blah, blah, blah.....just like Ive recently spent time at some design-fest for the idle rich, here's the CEO mouthing off at some conference. Stay home and fix the company - declining software quality, no innovations that are big enough to move the stock price, comical product launches (although that one is quite good because it always makes me laugh out loud how good they have become at self parody....I swear they must be running a sweepstake in the boardroom as to how long they can keep the " oooh, Ive has made it another micron thinner" gag going. Or at least it would be funny if they wern't pocketing so much of the shareholders profits for themselves).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdriftmeyer Avatar
124 months ago
Two of the dullest Keynote speakers of our time. Tim is great behind the scenes but is abysmal as a public speaker. He has the charisma of a white wall drying in a white room.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
124 months ago
New watch bands!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
Finder Siri Feature

Apple's New Siri Will Be Powered By Google Gemini

Wednesday November 5, 2025 11:57 am PST by
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google. For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.1 With Liquid Glass Toggle, Slide to Stop Alarm, New Apple Intelligence Languages and More

Monday November 3, 2025 1:11 pm PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.1, the first major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.1 comes over a month after iOS 26 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.1 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
Early Black Friday Deals 2

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Sunday November 2, 2025 10:04 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Feature

Apple Releases tvOS 26.1

Monday November 3, 2025 1:07 pm PST by
Apple today released tvOS 26.1, an update to the tvOS 26 operating system that came out in September. tvOS 26.1 is available on the Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV HD models, but Liquid Glass is only available on the second-generation Apple TV 4K or later. tvOS 26 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌‌Apple TV‌‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the ...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...