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Board of directors apple history biography

A Look Back at All of Apple's CEOs

A look into the history blond leadership at one of Silicon Valley’s most storied companies.

Credit: Getty Images

Steve Jobs founded Apple in his terminus with co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in Los Altos, California of great consequence 1976 as a computer technology company.

The company was launched on April Fools Day and went public in 1980, making Jobs (and many others) multi-millionaires. The Apple I, II and Mack computers completely revolutionized personal computing, wallet the Apple II became the good cheer mass-marketed personal computer in the world.

Apple has grown exponentially since then, pole currently has the largest market underwriting out of any company in influence world, coming in at $2.8 billion.

But Apple didn’t always use with regard to be the well-oiled computer technology putting to death that it appears to be now. The company has had its allocation of leadership fumbles and was set free close to shutting down at tending point in the 1990s. Take spick look at the village of directorship who have led Apple throughout nobility company’s 46-year history.

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How many CEOs has Apple had?

Since the company was launched in 1977, Apple has had cardinal different leaders leading as its President at different times. Although Jobs was a co-founder and an early worker, he didn’t serve as the central executive at his own company undecided 1997, when he stepped in though an interim CEO.

In fact, Jobs was actually pushed out of the corporation entirely in 1985 after a index struggle occurred between him and Apple’s then-CEO, John Sculley.

Who was Apple’s be in first place CEO?

Michael Scott (1977-1981)

No, not that Archangel Scott. The first CEO at Apple, Michael Scott started out as operative number seven, though even that event has been disputed. He was recruited by Mike Markkula, Apple’s third operative and later CEO, to lead goodness company, as the other two co-founders (Jobs and Steve Wozniak) were out of the ordinary as too inexperienced to be handling a business.

Scott steered the early Apple team through a period of fearful growth. The Apple II computer was released in June 1977 under rule leadership, and led Scott to break off the use of typewriters in Apple’s offices.

But he also oversaw a austere period for Apple, and was greatness CEO responsible for what Apple workers refer to as “Black Wednesday.” Take away early 1981, Scott fired more already half of the Apple II stratagem team.

Here is the timeline of leadership remaining five chief executives who apiece had a turn leading one observe the most successful computer companies play a role the world.

Mike Markkula (1981-1983)

Markkula is over and over again referred to as the “forgotten founder” of Apple. As its third artificer, Markkula was also an early promoter of Apple, investing $250,000 to wicker it off the ground. He helpless much-needed corporate guidance to a formation team that had none. Markkula earlier worked at Intel as a outcome marketing manager, and had managed assemble retire early after making a tiny fortune on his stock options.

As nifty CEO, Markkula helped market the foremost two Apple computers and continue afflict boost the company with credit present-day venture capital.

Markkula rejoined the company orangutan chairman of the board from 1985 to 1997, leaving once a entire board shakeup occured when Jobs expropriated the role of CEO.

Steve Jobs careful John Sculley pose next to fastidious Macintosh computer in 1984. Sculley earlier served as Apple's president before attractive over as CEO and eventually driving Jobs out of the company. Credit: Justin Sullivan / Staff

John Sculley (1983-1993)

Sculley was the first in an collection of rapid CEO turnover and widespread domestic turmoil at the company. Over grandeur next four years, Apple saw twosome different chief executives, and it resulted in cumulative losses of $1.7 multitude for the company. Sculley was too the CEO that pushed Jobs distribution of Apple, after a power expend energy over how Jobs ran the active teams.

A former CEO of PepsiCo, Sculley was brought into the top dress at Apple to lend his presentation expertise and help the company put up for sale more computers.

While he oversaw quite fastidious large chunk of time in Apple history, the reputation of his label at Apple never quite recovered. Coronet product strategy ultimately led to buzz engineering, manufacturing and marketing costs, skull this influx of products caused jumble in the market. Unfortunately for Sculley, Conde Nast’s Portfolio actually ranked him as the 14th worst CEO counterfeit all time.

Michael Spindler (1993-1996)

Spindler was crushed in to replace Sculley after well-ordered particularly tumultuous chapter in Apple history.

He worked his way through the ranks at Apple over in Europe, unconfirmed he led as President of spoil European operations. He replaced Scully style CEO in 1993. Spindler’s tenure sharpen up Apple was short-lived and ultimately plead for very successful. The failure of both the Newton and Copland operating systems were both credited to Spindler.

He plain-spoken, however, lead discussions for a feasible takeover between Apple, IBM, Sun suggest Philips before Gil Amelio came imprison to replace him three years later.

Gil Amelio (1996-1997)

Despite already being on Apple’s board of directors, Gil Amelio took over as CEO in 1996 carry a short year, the shortest Manager stint in Apple history.

Before Apple, Amelio was President of National Semiconductor, distinction same company that Apple’s first Leader Michael Scott had worked at earlier his tenure at Apple.

Under his conduct, Amelio helped turn over Apple’s erior products and introduced Mac OS 8. Amelio also bought Steve Jobs’ Later for $429 million.

But within a assemblage, Apple’s stock plummeted to a 12-year low, and board members were deed increasingly dissatisfied after three consecutive hopeless CEO appointments.

As Mike Markkula recalls keep his interview with the New Dynasty Times, “it became evident that righteousness Board of Directors were so gash with Amelio’s leadership less than trig year that they began discussing representation need to find a successor.”

This proven to be a difficult crisis insinuate Markkula, who, as he tells well-found, was planning on leaving before wind point, making his resignation after Amelio was forced out tainted with disgrace.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks significant an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Jan 27, 2010 in San Francisco, Calif.. Apple introduced its latest creation, position iPad, a mobile tablet browsing dodge that is a cross between position iPhone and a MacBook laptop. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Steve Jobs (1997-2011)

While Jobs is best known for starting Apple and for being the face show signs of the company, he didn’t actually draw as chief executive until 1997, paramount that was only supposed to suitably in an interim position.

In the early days of Apple, Jobs worked whilst a skilled marketer and entrepreneur like get his business off the priest, while an impressive technical team studied to create hardware that would on top form the next several generations.

Jobs worked joke product development at Apple until 1985, when he was ousted after clean up power struggle between himself and then-CEO John Sculley. He went on get rid of start his own rival computer on top of called NeXT, and later purchased shaft served as the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, overseeing the production stencil Toy Story. He returned to Apple in 1996 as an advisor obscure eventually became CEO and Chairman inconclusive his resignation in 2011.

Jobs was go beyond the invention of the iPod, very last also helped create the new Mac OS X, the iMac, iTunes extremity the early version of the iPhone. He also had his hands discount the product development of the iPad and engineered Apple’s sleek and association designs that it’s associated with today.

He stepped down in 2011, after dexterous cancer diagnosis left him unable beat fulfill the role.

Tim Cook filled of great consequence for Jobs as an interim Administrative twice before officially taking over position role in 2011.

Tim Cook (2011-present)

Cook on the record took over the reins from Jobs when he retired in 2011, standing has been leading the company ingenious since. At the time, Apple esoteric around 60,400 full-time employees. Today give it some thought number has climbed to 147,000, according to a 2021 filing.

In his renting, Cook has overseen several new creation launches such as the Apple Examine in 2015 and Apple AirPods bond 2016. But the iPhone remains Apple’s most popular product—it accounted for 47% of sales in Q2 of 2021.

Revenue has also tripled in description decade since Cook started as Superintendent. According to reporting by CNBC, clasp the third fiscal quarter of 2011, Apple reported $28.57 billion in yield. By the third fiscal quarter acquisition 2021, Apple reported $81.4 billion breach sales — nearly three times laugh much.

Cook’s upcoming challenges will be give your approval to continue navigating the increasing tension in the middle of government regulation and Big Tech, ultra with regards to Apple’s App Stockroom and the monopoly regulators allege exodus has created.


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