After the tumultuous era following Steve Jobs’ departure from Apple in 1985, the company seemingly had a revolving door fired to the CEO’s office until his return in 1997. While John Sculley, the man who infamously sent Jobs packing lasted a decade, none of the next three Apple CEOs managed to celebrate their third anniversary.
When Jobs returned in 1997, he ushered in an era of stability that carried on following his death. Tim Cook, the chosen successor, took over as CEO in 2011, continuing almost three decades of stability in the top job.
But this week, the expected smooth transition from Tim Cook to his heir apparent ran into a significant speed bump. Apple’s Chief Operating Office, Jeff Williams retired. It was long thought the 27-year Apple veteran would take the reins when 64 year old Tim Cook decides to retire.
There are a couple of candidates that are seen as obvious successors to Cook by many pundits.
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President Software Engineering, has a significant public profile which was made exceedingly obvious during the recent WWDC opening when his famous hair-do was given the spotlight.
And then there’s John Ternus, Senior Vice President Hardware Engineering. He is the person who is responsible for delivering Apple’s biggest cash cow, the iPhone, as well as numerous other products. And, at just 50 years of age, he could be a long-term prospect.
The biography written by Walter Isaacson published after the death of Steve Jobs spoke about Job’s wanting to institutionalise the lessons he and his team had learned. Which led him to creating the Apple University within Apple. It was a way of teaching employees how Apple did things. It was his way of preserving not just a management succession but a cultural one.
Many of the potential candidates from within Apple worked alongside Jobs before his death in 2011. But over the last 14 years Apple has changed significantly. The company’s revenues, valuation and influence have all multiplied many times over. And there’s a good argument that can be made that it now releases incremental changes to products rather than revolutions.
While Tim Cook’s era might have included the release of the Apple Watch, the lack of success with the Vision Pro might be the main legacy from which he’ll be remembered from an innovation perspective. But financially, he has taken Apple to the top of the world.
So, who’s next? Will Apple hire from within? That was the vision Steve Jobs had in establishing the Apple University and passing his baton gracefully to Tim Cook. Cook will leave Apple at a time of his own choosing – there’s almost no chance he will be fired or forced to leave. And that gives him an opportunity to groom his own successor.
While Federighi and Ternus seem like obvious candidates Apple could look outside, but that doesn’t feel like the sort of move Apple would make. It might, if it looked outside today’s list of internal candidates, look for a former Apple executive who left on their own terms. Jony Ive stands out in that crowd. And Ive’s recent partnership with OpenAI is interesting. Given Apple’s many AI issues, bringing Ive back could be something of a royal marriage of convenience.
What is clear though is that there is no obvious successor. When Steve Jobs was ill and took time away from Apple, he appointed Cook as the interim CEO (a position he filled when he first returned to Apple in 1997) before formally handing the position over before his death. There has not been any suggestion that Cook is prepared to take a period of leave while a potential successor is given a chance to prove themselves.
And that uncertainty, as Cook approaches his 65th birthday, may start making people nervous. The wrong decision could plunge Apple back to sorry state of the 1990s with the CEO’s revolving door. But a planned succession to someone that understands the Apple culture could drive the company to new heights.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.