# Tim Cook

## What the CEO actually runs

Tim Cook has been Apple CEO since 24 August 2011. He can ship silicon, set commission rates, and sign climate-and-privacy pages. He cannot write a DOJ complaint or a Foxconn hour.

## Costs on the record

The [2016 FBI iPhone order](/facts/aapl-fbi-2016) is a completed all-writs fight with mixed civic paths. [Epic v. Apple](/facts/aapl-epic-2020) is a completed 2020 docket on App Store tolls. The [2024 DOJ complaint](/facts/aapl-doj-2024) is a completed monopolisation filing. The [2016 Ireland state-aid decision](/facts/aapl-ireland-2016) and later ECJ cluster is a completed tax-base file. [China production and store politics](/facts/aapl-china-production) are a completed localisation-and-speech path. [GCBD iCloud keys 2018](/facts/aapl-gcbd-2018) are a completed encryption-key transfer to a PRC partner. [Hong Kong App Store removals 2020](/facts/aapl-hk-apps-2020) are a completed content concession. [Foxconn labour](/facts/aapl-foxconn-labour) is a completed assembler-rights cluster Apple codes did not abolish. [DMA designation 2023](/facts/aapl-dma-2023) is a completed gatekeeper listing. The [23 April 2025 DMA fine](/facts/aapl-dma-fine-2025) is a completed €500 million non-compliance decision on App Store steering. The [2019 China forecast cut](/facts/aapl-china-forecast-2019) later produced a 2024 shareholder settlement; a settlement is not a completed fraud conviction of Cook as a natural person. The [May 2026 Apple Intelligence settlement](/facts/aapl-ai-settlement-2026) is a completed advertising-class instrument without an admission of liability.

## Gains on the record

The [2011 CEO appointment](/facts/aapl-cook-ceo-2011) is a completed succession. The [2014 Bloomberg essay](/facts/aapl-cook-coming-out-2014) is a completed civic-speech instrument. [Apple Pay 2014](/facts/aapl-pay-2014), [Watch 2015](/facts/aapl-watch-2015), AirPods, and [M1 2020](/facts/aapl-m1-2020) are completed product instruments with jobs-and-productivity paths. [Privacy nutrition labels 2020–21](/facts/aapl-privacy-labels-2020) are a completed App Store disclosure. [Lockdown Mode 2022](/facts/aapl-lockdown-mode-2022) is a completed high-risk-user integrity instrument. [Supplier clean energy](/facts/aapl-supplier-energy) is a completed procurement-climate cluster. [2018 US investment pledge](/facts/aapl-us-investment-2018) is a completed domestic-capex instrument, not a unique unemployment coefficient. [2020 racial-equity pledges](/facts/aapl-racial-equity-2020) are a completed corporate instrument, not a unique Gini. The [20 April 2026 succession](/facts/aapl-succession-2026) names Ternus CEO from 1 September 2026 and Cook executive chairman; it is a completed board instrument, not a wipe of 2011–2024 dockets.

Official carriers include Apple 10-Ks and newsroom, SEC, DOJ, EUR-Lex, and Reuters.

## Shared files and limits

The score does not say that every iPhone job rebates a Foxconn shift. It does not say that a privacy keynote is a DMA certificate. It does not convert a 10-K climate page into a unique ppm. Related people are Musk, Zuckerberg, Pichai, Huang, Nadella, Bezos, Biden, Trump, von der Leyen, Vestager, Merkel, Macron.

A CEO is powerful enough to own those 10-Ks and those dockets. He is not powerful enough to be the unique author of Foxconn or of a Commission hearing officer. Keep 2011 and 2026 on separate dates. Keep GCBD keys and the FBI letter on separate sovereignties. Keep a €500 million DMA fine and a US complaint on separate capitals. If those distinctions feel pedantic, they are the alternative to a keynote and the alternative to a cartoon.

Official carriers used here include Apple Newsroom and 10-Ks, SEC, DOJ, EUR-Lex DMA texts, NLRB, and Reuters. A privacy nutrition label is not a completed DMA certificate. A 10-K climate page is not a unique ppm. A 2026 Apple Intelligence settlement is not a completed finding that Siri already shipped as advertised. Ternus’s September office is a different Person row when it exists; this catalog is Cook.

The 2011 succession and the 2026 succession are two dates. The 2016 Ireland decision and the 2025 DMA fine are two Brussels instruments. China assembly, GCBD keys, and Hong Kong App Store removals are three localisation files, not one adjective. Foxconn labour is a shop-floor file Apple codes did not abolish. Readers who want only M1 will miss Ireland. Readers who want only China will miss ATT. Keep those dates separate.

## Dated facts

- 2026: Apple agrees a $250 million settlement over Apple Intelligence advertising. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-ai-settlement-2026. Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j2nydnzy7o, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/.
- Apple names John Ternus CEO from 1 September 2026; Cook to executive chairman. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-succession-2026. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/john-ternus-become-apple-ceo-tim-cook-become-executive-chairman-2026-04-20/, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo/.
- 2025: The Commission fines Apple €500 million for DMA App Store steering non-compliance. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-dma-fine-2025. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-fines-apple-dma-app-store-2025-04-23/, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52025DMA100109.
- 2024: The US Department of Justice sues Apple for monopolising smartphones. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-doj-2024. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-doj-sues-apple-smartphone-monopoly-2024-03-21/, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-apple-monopolizing-smartphone-markets.
- 2024: Apple Vision Pro ships in the United States. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-vision-pro-2024. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-vision-pro-goes-sale-2024-02-02/, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/.
- 2023: The Commission designates Apple a DMA gatekeeper. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-dma-2023. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-designates-apple-dma-gatekeeper-2023-09-06/, https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/.
- 2022: Apple cuts iPhone production outlook after China COVID disruptions. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-china-demand-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-iphone-production-cut-china-covid-2022-12-21/, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/.
- 2022: Apple expands iPhone assembly in India. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-india-manufacturing-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-india-iphone-assembly-2022-09-26/, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/.
- 2022: Apple ships Lockdown Mode for high-risk users. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-lockdown-mode-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-lockdown-mode-spyware-2022-07-06/, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/.
- 2022: US Apple retail workers win a first union vote in Towson. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-unions-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-store-workers-vote-unionize-maryland-2022-06-18/, https://www.nlrb.gov/.
- 2021: Apple announces then delays on-device CSAM scanning. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-csam-2021. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-csam-scanning-delay-2021-09-03/, https://www.apple.com/child-safety/.
- 2021: App Tracking Transparency begins enforcing opt-in tracking. https://factrail.ai/facts/aapl-be-transparent-2021. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-app-tracking-transparency-2021-04-26/, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/.

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/people/tim-cook