Apple threw a farewell party for its outgoing chief at Apple Park on Sunday, spilling out of Caffè Macs, the cafeteria tucked into the ring-shaped Cupertino headquarters, and into the courtyard at its centre, where OneRepublic performed in the round. A photo on X shows Cook holding a guitar, standing with the band.About 200 people were there, almost all of them Apple employees, The Information reported. Somewhere in the evening, Cook did something he has done publicly only once before in his 15 years running the company. Speaking to the room, he acknowledged his partner and called him by his first name, Mike.
Laurene Powell Jobs and Jeff Williams were among those who paid tribute
Powell Jobs, wife of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, spoke at the event. So did Jeff Williams, the chief operating officer who retired last year, and Eddy Cue, who runs services and health. John Ternus, the hardware engineering boss taking over as Apple CEO next Tuesday, also offered remarks. There were no politicians and no celebrity parade, just a room made up almost entirely of colleagues.
Tim Cook has kept his personal life off the record since coming out in 2014
He came out in a Bloomberg Businessweek essay in October 2014, writing that being gay had given him “the skin of a rhinoceros”, which he said came in handy in his job. He described the decision as a trade-off with his own privacy and said he did not consider himself an activist. In the twelve years since, he has spoken far more often about privacy as a principle than about himself.
John Ternus becomes Apple CEO on September 1 as Cook moves to executive chairman
Apple announced the handover in April. Ternus joined the product design team in 2001 and has spent almost his entire career at the company. Cook becomes executive chairman, a role Apple says will include engaging with policymakers around the world, and Arthur Levinson shifts from chairman to lead independent director.The Information also reports a smaller detail that tells you what Apple is going for here. Cook’s executive assistant will work with Ternus from now on. On his final earnings call as CEO last month, Cook said the transition was going seamlessly.