Apple CEO Tim Cook says he does not plan to retire in the 'traditional' way
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- Apple CEO Tim Cook said he plans to retire eventually but wants to keep working beyond traditional retirement age.
- Cook, 64, has led Apple since 2011. He said he strongly values intellectual stimulation and work.
- Cook has said he wants his successor at Apple to be an internal hire.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said he plans to retire eventually but doesn't think he'll stop working anytime soon.
Cook, who has led the tech giant since the death of founder and former CEO Steve Jobs in 2011, said in the "Table Manners" podcast with UK singer-songwriter Jessie Ware that he still wants the stimulation of work.
In the podcast, Ware's mother, Lennie Ware, asked Cook if he thought he would ever retire. Cook, 64, replied, "sure, but not the traditional definition of it."
He went on to say that he doesn't see himself "being at home doing nothing and not intellectually stimulated." Cook said he thinks he will always be "thinking about how tomorrow can be better than today."
"I think I'll always be wired in that way and want to work," Cook said. "I mean, I was working when I was 11 or 12."
Cook shared earlier in the podcast that he got his first job on a paper route at around 11 or 12 years old before graduating to "flipping burgers" at a local restaurant by the age of 14 or 15.
"My upbringing — a lot of it — was centered on work and the belief that hard work was essential for everybody, regardless of your age," Cook said.
Last month, Cook said in a Wired Q&A that he gets questions about his retirement from the CEO position "now more than I used to."
Apple has not made any statements about Cook's retirement. A Bloomberg report in May described company insiders as saying Cook's retirement was most likely at least three years away.
Apple did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider for this story.
The Bloomberg report listed several top executives' names as potential successors for Cook. John Ternus, a senior vice president of hardware engineering, and Jeff Williams, the company's chief operating officer, were thought to be frontrunners for the position.
Cook has also said he wants his successor to be an internal hire.
"I really want the person to come from within Apple," Cook told the pop star Dua Lipa on an episode of her podcast in November 2023.