Apple's Tim Cook’s final memo to all employees as CEO - Mark Gurman, Bloomberg Managing Editor - Breaking News on Apple & Tech.

2026-08-31

Takeaways by Bloomberg AI

• Tim Cook told employees he will miss the role of chief executive officer but has "enormous comfort" in the leadership of his replacement, John Ternus.
• Cook said he is not leaving Apple, but is stepping away from a role that he has loved deeply, and will remain at peace with his decision.
• As executive chairman, Cook will remain responsible for working with governments around the world, including those of the US and China.

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Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook told employees that he’ll miss the role of chief executive officer but has “enormous comfort” in the leadership of his replacement, John Ternus.

Cook made the comments in an email to all employees on Monday, his final day as CEO. Cook took over for Steve Jobs in August 2011, when he embarked on a record-breaking 15-year tenure that included the launch of the Apple Watch, AirPods, and major expansions to the iPhone, iPad and Mac lines.

Read More: Apple’s Ternus Takes the Reins as CEO, With AI as Job No. 1

“As you know, I am not leaving Apple. But I am stepping away from a role that I have loved deeply,” Cook said in his email. “I will miss this work in ways I can only begin to imagine, even as I remain completely at peace with my decision.”

Discussing Ternus, Cook said that “few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership.”

In his new job as executive chairman, Cook will remain responsible for working with governments around the world, including those of the US and China.

Here is Cook’s final memo to all employees as CEO:

Team,

Today is my last day as CEO of Apple. This is a moment I always knew would come one day, and yet it is still hard to believe it has arrived and I am writing these words. I love this company and the team behind it, and I couldn’t let this day pass without sending a note to you to tell you how grateful I am for the outpouring of affection you’ve sent my way, for the way you’ve shown up each and every day, and most of all, for the privilege of a lifetime serving as your leader.

The truth is, whatever there is to say about my success, I know it is all because of you. You have brought out the best in me. In all my life, I have never seen or been with such an extraordinary team of people before, and every day I get to see more examples of that.

There is something truly special about Apple. I am most proud of what an annual report could never capture. This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything. We share a belief that what we build matters and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it. That purpose is part of what makes this place extraordinary. Apple helps nurture it, but I believe it lived within each of you long before you arrived here. It is what brought you to this company and what continues to drive the work you do every day.

Together, we have created something far greater than any one of us could have imagined or accomplished alone. And that’s the secret to our success. We bring out the best in each other. We lift each other up. We have made it possible to leave our “dent in the universe,” as Steve once described it, because of who we are and what we believe, because of what we value and how we see the world. How fortunate we are. How fortunate I am.

As you know, I am not leaving Apple. But I am stepping away from a role that I have loved deeply. I will miss this work in ways I can only begin to imagine, even as I remain completely at peace with my decision. I will miss leading you and being with you for every step, even as I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John. Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership.

I hope you know how much I appreciate you and what an honor it has been to be your CEO. Most of all, I hope you will continue to be proud to be part of this remarkable place we call Apple and always give it your very best. When we bring our whole selves to this work, with care for one another and for the people we serve, there is no limit to the profound difference we can make.

I look forward to seeing you in my new role at Apple Park and around the world.

With all I have and all I am, I am always.

Yours,

Tim

Mark Gurman is the managing editor of the consumer technology team for Bloomberg News and chief correspondent for Apple and consumer hardware companies.

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Cecile G. Tamura' post:

Steve Jobs pulled off one of the greatest “reality distortion field” recruiting moves in business history.

In 1998, he convinced Tim Cook to leave Compaq—a company then valued at more than $30 billion—and join Apple, which was worth roughly $3 billion and was widely seen as being close to collapse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Sy3qwthCw

Everyone Cook trusted told him not to do it.

Cook was 37, successful at Compaq, and had no obvious reason to jump into a troubled company. But Jobs got him into one meeting.

And somehow, that was enough.

Cook later recalled that Jobs laid out his vision for Apple: while virtually everyone else in the PC industry was abandoning the consumer market for servers, storage, and enterprise customers, Jobs was going all-in on consumers.

Jobs also showed Cook an early glimpse of what would become the iMac.

Cook remembers thinking:

> “I always thought following the herd was a bad idea.”

Then came the decisive realization: he believed he could make a contribution—and that working with Jobs would be “the privilege of a lifetime.”

So he listened to his gut.

> “There was literally no one around me that was advising me to do it.”

In March 1998, Cook joined Apple as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, reportedly on a $400,000 base salary plus a $500,000 signing bonus.

He was 37.

Apple was struggling.

Compaq was enormously more valuable.

And virtually everyone around him thought he was making a mistake.

The rest, of course, became history.

Cook would eventually become the person who succeeded Steve Jobs as Apple’s CEO—and preside over one of the most valuable companies the world has ever seen.

Sometimes the biggest career decisions don't make sense on paper.

Sometimes you see something other people don't.

And sometimes, the most important thing you can do is listen to your gut.

#stevejobs #timcook #apple #thinkdifferent #leadership

#trustyourgut #entrepreneurship