Tim Cook Has Now Been Apple's CEO for Longer Than Steve Jobs

Tim Cook has now served as Apple's chief executive officer (CEO) for longer Steve Jobs' entire tenure, including the latter's time as interim CEO.

Tim Cook MacBook
Steve Jobs served as Apple's CEO across two distinct stretches: first as interim CEO from September 16, 1997 to January 5, 2000, a period lasting 841 days, and then as official CEO from January 5, 2000 until his resignation on August 24, 2011, a span of 4,249 days. Combined, Jobs led Apple as CEO for a total of 5,090 days.

‌Tim Cook‌, on the other hand, became CEO immediately following Jobs's resignation on August 24, 2011 and has continuously held since then, which amounts to 5,091 days. This means that, as of August 1, 2025, Cook has officially been Apple's CEO for one day longer than Steve Jobs was.

It's worth noting that from 1976 to 1985, Steve Jobs was never Apple's CEO. When Apple incorporated in 1977, venture capitalist Mike Markkula insisted on bringing in an experienced executive to run the company, which is why Michael Scott was hired as Apple's first CEO. After Scott left, Markkula himself became CEO, followed by John Sculley, whom Jobs personally recruited from Pepsi in 1983.

Jobs instead held titles such as chairman of the board and head of the Macintosh division, but he was not entrusted with the chief executive role. Ultimately, after a power struggle in 1985, Jobs was stripped of his responsibilities and left the company entirely.

In terms of hardware, as CEO Jobs oversaw the launch of major products such as the iMac, iPod, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad from 1997 to 2011. Cook, on the other hand, has overseen the debut of the Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Apple silicon, AirTag, and Vision Pro.

Software-wise, Jobs debuted iTunes, Mac OS X, Safari, iOS, the App Store, FaceTime, and iCloud. Cook has overseen the launch of Swift, Apple Pay, Apple Intelligence, and a massive expansion of Apple services including Apple Music, ‌Apple TV‌+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+.

Jobs also stewarded the company's recovery and Microsoft's $150 million investment, the move into retail, the plan to build Apple Park, and Apple's ascension to become the most valuable American tech company. Cook has supervised record valuations (reaching $3 trillion dollars in 2022) and Apple becoming the most valuable public traded company, as well as significant acquisitions such as Beats and Shazam.

Cook seemingly has no plans to step down anytime soon; there is apparently no immediate successor ready to take the helm. In fact, he could become Apple's chairman as well as CEO in the not-too-distant future.

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Top Rated Comments

pavelbure Avatar
8 weeks ago
Keeping the company profitable A+
Making innovative products that people want to buy D+
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StoneJack Avatar
8 weeks ago
He has been good choice for Apple after Jobs. In business terms, almost perfect.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ForkHandles Avatar
8 weeks ago

Keeping the company profitable A+
Making innovative products that people want to buy D+
Making a company A+ profitable by not creating innovative products that people want to buy!

That’s some top level business acumen right there.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vertsix Avatar
8 weeks ago
He is no Steve Jobs.

- Failures in AI.
- Failed execution and investment with Apple Vision Pro.
- Anti-consumer subscription-based models.
- Bloated and unfocused product categories.
- Vaporware (AirPower and Apple Car).
- Unnecessary products (HomePod, anyone?).
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrENGLISH Avatar
8 weeks ago
I often wonder how different the world would be if Steve Jobs's life wasn't cut so short.

RIP Steve
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unami Avatar
8 weeks ago
So, time for a retirement, finally, and then let's get a products-guy again.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)