Apple CEO Tim Cook went to Chicago to check out a new Apple Store and ended up talking about his successors.
“My role as CEO is to prepare as many people as possible to be CEOs, and that’s what I do. Then the board will decide,” Cook said in an interview with BuzzFeed News.
In the BuzzFeed video, Cook sat next to Angela Ahrendts, the former CEO of Burberry who runs Apple’s retail division and was mentioned as a potential future Apple CEO.
Ahrendts, however, said that specific reports that she wanted to be Apple's next CEO are "fake news" and "nonsense."
Cook, 56, joined Apple in 1998 as senior vice president of worldwide operations. He was named CEO in August 2011 when company co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down due to illness. Jobs died three months later, in October, just days after the iPhone 4S was released.
While Cook may be considered too young to retire, some Apple watchers have speculated that he may be interested in a future career in politics, as he has shown more political interest than previous Apple CEOs. Cook, however, denies that he has any future plans to get involved in politics.
On the other hand, Cook talked about the upcoming iPhone X, which goes on sale on Friday.
"We'll see what happens," said the Apple CEO.
It should be noted that if Tim Cook's plan with the two iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices does not go well, investors could demand drastic changes in Apple's leadership from the board.
Of course, Tim Cook is probably unlucky in his career as Apple CEO, as the yardstick of comparison has always been Jobs..
