Since taking over as Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook has kept the company ship steady, successfully orchestrating the iPhone 4S. And though he’s still settling in, the WSJ has a full analysis of his performance thus far, and how that differs from its last boss, Steve Jobs.
Cook has proven to be more of a mellow-mannered and approachable CEO than Steve Jobs. He sends company-wide memos and speaks more candidly about Apple. He’s also done some restructuring of his own.
Since becoming CEO in August, Mr. Cook has restructured Apple’s big education division that deviated from the company’s overall organizational structure, according to a person familiar with the matter. For years, that business had operated fairly independently. Mr. Cook split the business into a sales arm and a marketing arm and incorporated the groups into their respective company-wide divisions, said this person.
The move streamlined Apple’s structure and increased the responsibilities of senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller and John Brandon, a vice president who oversees many of Apple’s sales channels and has worked very closely with Mr. Cook for years, this person said. Apple’s education head John Couch, who had reported to Mr. Cook, now reports to Mr. Schiller.
Within days of taking over, Mr. Cook also promoted vice president Eddy Cue to Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, bumping up the title of one of the company’s most visible executives.
As for what’s next? Everyone expects Cook to find something to do with (at least some) of Apple’s $US81.6 billion in cash they have on hand. The Journal speculates he’ll look into stock buyback options, though part of me hopes they’ll go and buy some awesome, forward-thinking companies. Or better yet, invest in video content deals, especially if they’re gonna make an actual Apple HDTV. [WSJ]