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.