Apple Turns 50: the 7 CEOs Who Built It and Who Comes Next |
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Apple Turns 50: the 7 CEOs Who Built It and Who Comes Next
As Tim Cook nears retirement age, Apple’s next CEO will inherit a legacy shaped by Steve Jobs, John Sculley and decades of reinvention.
When you think of Apple, you probably picture Steve Jobs, the visionary behind its revolutionary designs, or Tim Cook, the soft-spoken Southerner who turned Apple into a global business powerhouse. But in the company’s 50-year history, seven people have held the top job. The lineup ranges from Apple’s first CEO, Michael Scott (no, not that one), who once banned typewriters in the office, to John Sculley, the executive who famously ousted Jobs in the 1980s.
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As Apple marks its 50th anniversary today (April 1), it remains one of the world’s most valuable and influential tech companies, far removed from its humble 1976 beginnings in a California garage. Whoever becomes its eighth CEO will inherit a massive legacy.
Here’s a look back at every leader who’s shaped Apple over the past five decades:
Michael Scott (1977 to 1981)
Michael Scott was Apple’s first CEO, chosen because co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were seen as too inexperienced to lead. Mike Markkula, one of Apple’s earliest investors and a former colleague of Scott’s at Fairchild Semiconductor, recruited him for the role.
Leaving his post as director of........