After much speculation, Apple confirmed earlier this week that Tim Cook will step down as CEO on September 1, with John Ternus set to take over. Soon after the announcement, the company held a town hall meeting where both leaders addressed employees and spoke about the transition and what lies ahead.
According to an earlier report by Bloomberg, Cook reassured employees that he is in good health and plans ‘to be in this new role for a long time.’ Ternus also showed confidence, telling employees that Apple is ‘about to change the world once again.’
In a new follow-up report, Bloomberg now revealed more details from the same meeting, including Cook’s biggest mistake and one of his proudest moments at Apple. During the discussion, Cook openly admitted that the list of mistakes he has made would be ‘extraordinary in length.’ However, he pointed out that Apple has largely avoided major product recalls or cancellations over the past 15 years.
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Among those mistakes, Cook highlighted the launch of Apple Maps as a major one. He admitted that the product was released before it was fully ready. ‘The product wasn’t ready, and we thought it was because we were testing more of local kind of stuff,’ Cook said during the town hall. Despite the rough start, he added that the experience ‘ended up being a valuable experience.’
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Cook also spoke about his proudest moments as CEO. He recalled the first time he received an email from a user whose life had been saved by the Apple Watch. Cook said it hit him ‘particularly hard,’ even though he now receives such emails almost every day. The report added that Cook emphasised how important it is to learn from mistakes.
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