Apple CEO Tim Cook putting his stamp on tech giant
BY PETER SVENSSON Associated Press
Saturday, December 08, 2012
12/08/12 at 4:35 AM
NEW YORK - "Those jobs aren't coming back."
That's what Steve Jobs reportedly told President Barack Obama when asked at a dinner in early 2011 whether Apple would consider moving some of its manufacturing from China to the United States.
Jobs' successor, CEO Tim Cook, might have another response for Obama: Yes, we can.
Though the metal edges of its PCs and mobile devices are as sharp and severe as ever, Apple is emerging under Cook's leadership as a kinder corporate citizen. Cook's announcement this week that the company is moving the production of one of its Mac computer lines to the U.S. is just the latest step in a softening of the company's image following the October 2011 death of CEO and co-founder Jobs.
"Cook is a gentler being in terms of how he projects himself," says Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. That's partly of necessity, she says - few people would tolerate Jobs-like arrogance in a new CEO - but it's also a reflection of Cook's personality.
Cook was born in Alabama and at age 52 it seems he is still very much a Southern gentleman. He joined Apple Inc. in 1998 from IBM Corp., where he worked for 12 years. Starting out as Apple's senior vice president of worldwide operations, he rose through the ranks to become chief operating officer. He made a name for himself as an expert organizer of manufacturing processes and a deft manager of supply chains.
Cook didn't say which computers Apple would make in the U.S., or where the company might locate new facilities. But bringing assembly-line jobs back to the U.S. lights a beacon of hope for working-class Americans who worry that the global economy has no use for them.
Cook's reforms have been both internal and outward-facing. Earlier this year, he visited the Chinese factories where Apple products are assembled, amid an Apple-financed audit of working conditions. Shortly after, Foxconn, the manufacturing contractor, promised to limit working hours and raise wages.
U.S. workers are getting a better deal too. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple will let some employees take up to two weeks of paid leave to work on pet projects that might benefit the company.
In addition, the company now matches employee donations up to $10,000 a year. Tim Cook himself made $100 million in charitable donations early in the year, another contrast to Jobs, who had little interest in philanthropy.
Under Cook, Apple has also become more investor-friendly. Jobs was opposed to Apple parting with its cash reserves. That lead to the company accumulating a rainy-day fund of nearly $100 billion in cash.
This year, Apple has begun sharing its wealth with investors for the first time in two decades, by paying dividends of nearly $10 billion a year.
Original Print Headline: Apple reboots with new CEO
Associated Images:
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook speaks following the introduction of the iPhone 5 in San Francisco on Sept. 12. Apple is emerging as a gentler, cuddlier corporate citizen in the year after the death of CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs. ERIC RISBERG/Associated Press
|
