All Apple CEOs are the biggest mastermind who worked with a spark. Apple is surely a company that requires no introduction. But if you think of the major minds that have made a small company into Apple, CEOs are the people that will deserve the most of the shares of the applause. Apple has introduced some major tech to us that has brought revolutionary changes. But this path was not as smooth as you see in recent times.
Apple Inc. is known as the world’s most popular and biggest tech company at present. All the things they do even the announcement makes us crazy. This perception about them did not grow in one day; it’s been implied in our hearts with their products.
Timeline of All the Apple CEOs
To know more about Apple, we must know the person behind the scene. All Apple CEOs achieved the milestone in their time. Some of them are gone and some are still contributing. Some of them became a legend as an entrepreneur. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak & Ronald Wayne were the pillars who made this tremendously popular company. In 1977 it was incorporated.
From that day only a few people got the chance to become the CEO of this company and flourish their leadership. But how much we know about them? Let’s check that out.
Michael Scott (1977-1981)
Michael Scott was the first person who got the chance to be the CEO of Apple Inc. Maybe he never thought that a revolution is going to start from here. He took the position in February 1977 and continued it till March 1981. The main reason for him to be the CEO is the experience of dealing with circumstances, which was absent in Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. They decided to make a person as CEO who is enough experienced in this sector and guide the company to the right path. As a result, Michael Scott became the CEO.
Before he took the position of CEO, he was the director of Manufacturing at National Semiconductor. He took the big decision at his time and that is banning all the typewriters. That’s why 40 employees of Apple got fired.
Mike Markkula (1981-1983)
This person is known as an angel in Apple’s history. He has invested a huge amount in Apple to catch the dream for personal computers. He knew well that Steve can make things possible with his potential. In his time he invested $250000. He’s also the first man in Apple history who came forward to introduce the first two Apple computers in the market.
His contribution can never be denied in Apple’s history. Before Steve Jobs returned to Apple, Mike Markkula served the Apple.
John Sculley (1983-1993)
Picture: John Sculley
John Sculley was the king of marketing. He was the former CEO of PepsiCo. His vast experience helped him to become the CEO of Apple Inc. He made lots of major changes in Apple in his time. Apple called it a “Sculley era”. Because of it, Steve and Sculley made some contradictory decisions. Somehow, his decision turned into a flop one. In his time the price of Iconic Macintosh has gone higher. Before Apple has undergone in the darkness, the board ousted him. 1993 was the year when Apple fell from the top.
He was also one of the most paid employees in Silicon Valley. Maybe he was good at marketing but not good in leadership. At last, he lost control of his team. Even Steve Jobs couldn’t agree with his philosophy of leadership. Finally, he enlisted his name as a bad CEO in the history of the United States of America.
Michael Spindler (1993-1996)
Michael Spindler was Apple’s Europe President. He also faced some criticism because of the failure of the Copland and Newton operating system. But he became the CEO of Apple after Sculley was removed from his position by the board. He was good at making some strategies according to the situation. But it wasn’t enough to make Apple successful. He was focused on the reorganization of Apple after taking the responsibility as a CEO.
He sacked 2500 people from Apple to implement his strategy. All the shareholders of Apple Inc. were not happy with his decision and this disappointment grew faster after publishing the financial report. At the same time, Apple was facing various problems because of him. In 1996, he replaced because of his activities.
Gilbert Frank Amelio (1996-1997)
This man came for a short time as a CEO in Apple and took responsibility when Apple was passing its hard time due to some of the bad decisions. Gil Amelio also was a director of Apple when he occupied the CEO post. But Steve Jobs was not satisfied to work with this man, though Amelio was experienced as a CEO in National Semiconductor.
He took some major decisions for Apple including introducing Mac OS 8 and buying ‘NeXT’ which belongs to Steve Jobs. For this, Amelio had to spend almost $429 million. But the share price of Apple was falling to the bottom. So, it was obvious that the CEO is going to lose his job, where later on Steve became the CEO of Apple.
Steve Jobs (1997-2011)
Who doesn’t know about Steve, a legend in Apple history? After taking the post as CEO, he focused on just one thing, that is running the organization smoothly and make it profitable again to gain the trust of the shareholder. He started to shut down many projects which weren’t contemporary and introduced Mac OS X & iMac. In 2000 he officially became the CEO and we got the iPod, iTunes and the revolutionary iPhone.
At the same time, he was working on more products. As a result, the Mac brand was created. The computer became sleeker and smaller. However, everything has an end. Steve also needed to quit. Because of his illness, he retired as an Apple CEO on August 24, 2011.
Before his retirement, he made Apple the most valuable company on the planet.
Tim Cook (2011-present)
Tim Cook was the first choice of Steve Jobs as the CEO of Apple Inc. He was also an interim CEO of Apple. So, Tim Cook was recruited by him. He took the charges as a CEO when Steve was on medical leave. This man loves to work silently. Apple lover thinks that Steve cannot make a wrong decision for his beloved Apple Inc. So, he handed over the responsibility to the perfect hand who can continue the journey of glory.
Final Words
CEO of any company must come forward with a great vision. Apple also wanted to ensure that. From the beginning, the founder knew that their potential activities and dedication to the work can enlighten the world with new and great technology. All Apple CEOs tried their best to make that come true. Some became successful and some couldn’t.
As a whole, Apple became an example of the growing company and which is still on the line of success. This timeline will help you understand the journey from past to future which was started with Michael Scott and Tim Cook still leading as a leader.
