Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for an interview with Good Morning America‘s Michael Strahan this week, and during the sit down, Cook responded to rumors about his possibly retiring in the near future.
Cook dismissed the speculation about his stepping down, noting, “I love what I do deeply.”
“Twenty-eight years ago, I walked into Apple and I’ve loved every day of it since,” he said. “We’ve had ups and downs, but the people I work with are so amazing. They bring out the best in me. And hopefully, I can bring out the best in them. And Michael, I can’t imagine life without Apple.”
The full interview clip is available on YouTube below.
Cook has been Apple’s CEO since August 2011, and he reached the typical retirement age of 65 last year.
Last November, the Financial Times reported that Apple had stepped up its efforts to lay down a foundation for current CEO Tim Cook to step down as soon as 2026.
The report claimed the Cupertino company’s board of directors and senior executives had “recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins.”
As for who will replace Cook as Apple CEO when he does step down, the company’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, is widely viewed as Cook’s most likely successor. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001, is 50 years old, making him one of Apple’s younger senior executives, meaning he could potentially have a lengthy reign as CEO.
If and when Cook does retire s Apple CEO, he could still stick around, possibly becoming the executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors, meaning he could play a key role in the company for years to come.
