It’s Time for Apple to Identify Cook’s Successor
What a week Tim Cook had. On Thursday, Apple reported anemic September-quarter results, completing a fiscal year where revenues fell 2.8%. That’s actually not a bad result given that the smartphone market that drives Apple’s business shrank 10.5% in the same 12-month period, according to IDC data. Still, it is yet another reminder (if any were needed) that Apple is no longer a growth company. Cook’s other big event this week was his birthday: He turned 63 on Wednesday, which incidentally is several years older than any of his counterparts atop other big tech firms. In fact, the average age of the CEOs of Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon and X/SpaceX/Tesla is around 50.
For a company of Apple’s size and cultural importance, it’s remarkable that there’s so little public discussion of the fact that its management is aging—and so little sense of who could come next. Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, is reportedly just a couple of years younger than Cook, which means he could only be a short-term successor if Cook decided to retire tomorrow. To be clear, there’s no reason to think Cook is planning to retire imminently, but it’s certainly possible he wants to have another chapter in his life. A Bloomberg report in 2021 said Cook wanted to stick around for “one more major new product” release, such as the mixed-reality glasses which are due out early next year. Assuming that’s true, Apple’s board should be looking for a successor now.
In fact, while Cook has unquestionably been an excellent CEO, at least from a shareholder point of view, it wouldn’t be a terrible thing for him to move on sooner rather than later. The company is too reliant on a portfolio of mostly older products to have any hope of improving its long-term growth trajectory. The mixed-reality headset looks unlikely to be the fix some might want. What Apple needs is a leader with fresh ideas and a willingness to take some risks. Cook, who has maintained an exemplary track record over the past dozen years, has reason to take less risk, not more. After all, who wants to blot their reputation at this point in their tenure?
Will that be someone from inside? Most of the people at the top of Apple have been there a long time and have surely absorbed Apple’s way of doing things. That’s probably a good thing, given how successful the company has been. The question is whether one of those people is willing to try a few new things. It’s a question the board and shareholders need answered.