From Steve Jobs To Tim Cook: List Of People Who Have Been Apple CEOs

April 1st 1976. This was the day iPhone maker Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniaki and Ronald Wayne. Among the three co-founders, Steve Jobs is the most well known one, and also only one among them who went on to become Apple＊s CEO.

But not many people are aware that although Steve Jobs was the longest serving CEO of Apple, but not the tech giant＊s first CEO. Wondering who Apple＊s first CEO was? Let us bring to you the entire list of seven people who have held the position of Apple CEO in the iPhone maker＊s nearly fifty year history.

From Steve Jobs To Tim Cook: List Of Apple CEOs

apple list of ceos/apple

1.Michael Scott (1977每1981)

Michael Scott /megamac

Born on February 11, 1945, Michael "Scotty" Scott is an American entrepreneur, who was the first CEO of Apple from February 1977 to March 1981. Michael Scott, also known as Mike Scott, was a friend of Mike Markkula (who later became Apple CEO), who convinced him to become Apple's first CEO in 1977. Michael Scott is said to have been instrumental in the company's exponential growth in its first years, bringing with him valuable management experience.

2.Mike Markkula (1981每1983)

mike markkula/megamac

Mike worked as an investor, businessman, and electrical engineer prior to joining Apple. Steve Jobs had convinced him that there was a burgeoning market for personal computers, luring him out of retirement. Persuaded, Markkula brought $250,000 to Apple in 1977 (plus an additional $80,000 in equity investment and $170,000 in loan), his business acumen, and he became the company's third employee and one-third owner.

Markkula was a skilled engineer with useful technical knowledge. He was a beta tester for Apple products and wrote multiple early Apple II programs. He also wrote one of the first three programs for the doomed Apple III. It was appropriate for Markkula, who had hired Scott in the first place, to assume the CEO position following his downfall. Mike served as Apple's CEO for a two-year stint before leaving in 1997.

3.John Sculley (1983每1993)

John Sculley/megamac

John Sculley was convinced by Steve Jobs to leave Pepsi and use his marketing expertise in the personal computer industry. Given his apparent inexperience, Sculley appeared to be the better choice to succeed Mike Markkula when he decided to retire rather than Jobs. Sculley was viewed as a strong choice to project stability and dependability for Apple because of his extensive business experience and recent achievements at Pepsi. But it didn't take long for Jobs and Sculley to start battling for dominance.

Sculley was given instructions by the Apple board of directors to "contain" Jobs. Jobs tried to remove Scully from Apple rather than doing as Sculley instructed. When Sculley learned of Jobs' plans, he called a board meeting, at which the Apple board of directors decided to remove Jobs from his managerial position and take a stand on Sculley's behalf. Jobs left Apple and didn't come back until 1997.

Following Jobs' departure, Sculley was appointed president, and in 1986, the business saw a significant upturn. Apple's sales increased from $982 million in 1983 to $7.9 billion in 1993 under Sculley's direction. But following a disastrous first quarter of 1993 marked by a war in personal computer prices and internal conflict over the company's course, Sculley was fired by the Apple board.

4.Michael Spindler (1993每1996)

Michael Spindler/megamac

Spindler, who was born in Germany, started working at Apple in 1980 after Markkula invited him to assist with the company's European office. With Apple's European operations, Spindler advanced fast through the ranks, holding the positions of President of Apple Europe and President of Apple International. Spindler was selected to succeed Sculley as Apple's CEO in October 1993. As CEO, Spindler's first significant action was to force through a drastic restructuring that included the loss of 2,500 jobs.

5.Gil Amelio (1996每1997)

Gil Amelio /megamac

During Apple's dark days, when the stock fell to a 12-year low, Gil Amelio served as CEO. His tenure was the shortest of any CEO at Apple. Amelio was the CEO of National Semiconductor before joining Apple. Since Apple relied heavily on National Semiconductor in 1994, it was not surprising that the company approached Amelio about joining the board of directors. Apple declared in February 1996 that Amelio would succeed Spindler as CEO in an attempt to turn the business around. But Amelio was hardly an improvement over Spindler.

Amelio's tenure at Apple was cut short by two incidents. Initially, Amelio's modifications lacked sufficient vigor. Amelio was not the marketing wizard Apple needed to come up with fresh ideas. Second, Amelio presided over a disastrous quarter in 1997 that resulted in a $1.6 billion overall deficit. Thanks to his role as Pixar's director, Jobs had gained a great deal of experience by this point and was now worth a billion dollars. Amelio was not a good fit for the position, and Jobs convinced the Apple Board of this. Jobs said, "Apple is like a ship with a hole in the bottom, leaking water." "It is my responsibility to steer the ship in the proper direction." After the meeting, Steve Jobs took over as Apple's acting CEO for one week.

6.Steve Jobs (1997-2011)

steve jobs/9to5mac

This man needs no introduction. Steve Jobs was the longest serving CEO of Apple, and undoubtedly the most popular and admired one, with many around the tech industry calling him a genius. When Steve Jobs died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, his sister Mona reportedly spoke about his last words as part of her eulogy. She mentioned that Steve Jobs looked at his sister Patty, children and partner Laurene, and spoke his final words- ＆Oh wow, Oh wow, Oh wow＊, which were monosyllables, repeated three times.

7.Tim Cook (2011-Present)

apple ceo tim cook/mint

After Steve Jobs＊ death, Tim Cook took over Apple CEO, a role he has been playing since nearly 13 years now. Tim Cook was recruited by Steve Jobs in 1998 from Compaq to lead Worldwide Operations. Before he became CEO, Tim Cook was the interim CEO during Jobs' leave of absence for pancreatic cancer, and again while Jobs had a liver transplant. Under Tim Cook＊s leadership, Apple has grown to become a $3 trillion company.

Also Read: Why Apple CEO Tim Cook Once Rejected Elon Musk's Offer To Buy Tesla

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