Tim Cook. Image by photovanessacarvalho via Shutterstock
“For the last 15 years, I start almost every morning the same way. I open my email and read the messages I received the day before from Apple users around the world. You share little pieces of your life with me and tell me how Apple has impacted you. About the moment your mom was saved by her Apple Watch. About the beautiful selfies you took at the top of a mountain that seemed insurmountable. You thank me for how the Mac has changed your opportunities at work, and sometimes tease me because something you care about isn’t working the way it should,” the message reads.
Tim Cook ended his address by thanking everyone, “This is not goodbye. But at this transitional moment, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you. This time not on behalf of the company, although within our walls you are overwhelmed with gratitude. But simply from myself. Tim. A man who grew up in a rural area in a different time and in these magical moments became the CEO of the greatest company in the world. Thank you for the trust and kindness you’ve shown me. Thank you for the greetings on the street and in our stores. Thank you for supporting me when we introduced a new product or service. And above all, thank you for believing in me as the leader of a company that has always put you at the center of its work. Every day we get up and think about what we can do to make your lives a little better. And every day you’ve made my life the best I could have ever dreamed of.”
Apple previously announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO in September to become Apple’s executive chairman. “A new person will take over what I know in my heart is the best job in the world. That leader will be John Ternus, a brilliant engineer and thinker who has spent the last 25 years building the Apple products our customers love so much, obsessed with every detail, focused on every possible way to make something better, bolder, more beautiful, and more meaningful. He’s perfect for the job,” Apple said in a statement.
