Apple's Tim Cook & Jeff Williams make Time 'Most Influential People in Tech' list

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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Time Magazine on Tuesday posted its "20 Most Influential People in Tech" list for 2017, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and his COO, Jeff Williams.




Cook is ranked fourth on the list, and said to have "nearly unmatched influence over the technology world," since Apple is "copied by a seemingly endless number of rivals." Time also pointed to the potential impact of the company's secret projects, including self-driving cars and augmented reality.

Williams is in 17th, described as Cook's "second in command" and "Tim Cook's Tim Cook," since Cook was himself COO before taking over the CEO role from Steve Jobs. Time noted that Williams been handling Apple's supply chain since 2010, and oversaw development of the Apple Watch, "a sign he's closely involved with new projects."

The top three positions on the list are held by Tesla/SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

While Apple has become even more successful under Cook than it was under Jobs, some critics have worried that the company is losing its edge. iPhone sales have declined in a few recent quarters, and while the Apple Watch is thought to be reasonably popular, it hasn't been a breakout product like iPhones or iPads. The company's AI assistant, Siri, is typically considered weak next to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

Much may be hinging on the "iPhone 8," expected to launch later this year. It's expected to introduce a number of changes, including a 5.8-inch OLED screen, a virtual home button, wireless charging, and 3D facial recognition/iris scanning.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    I'm not sure if that list is being read correctly. The top four on the list are all rated as a "20", meaning that they are all at the same level.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 8
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Why is bezos and zuckerberg above cook??
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Well, there you have it. Tim's likely successor will (probably) be Jeff Williams once Tim retires. Although I still think a person like Bob Iger (current CEO of Disney) would be a good successor also. Tons of "vision".
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 4 of 8
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    cali said:
    Why is bezos and zuckerberg above cook??
    Read my post.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 8
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    melgross said:
    I'm not sure if that list is being read correctly. The top four on the list are all rated as a "20", meaning that they are all at the same level.
    Look again.  That was probably a copy and paste error on the web page.   When I go to the link, it's 20, 19, 18, etc.   
  • Reply 6 of 8
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    zoetmb said:
    melgross said:
    I'm not sure if that list is being read correctly. The top four on the list are all rated as a "20", meaning that they are all at the same level.
    Look again.  That was probably a copy and paste error on the web page.   When I go to the link, it's 20, 19, 18, etc.   
    in several pages it's 20 for the top 4.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    People deep into Technology are generally not influenced by people they are influenced by technological building blocks. 

    Steve Jobs jobs probably transcended the divide better than anyone in recent times. 



  • Reply 8 of 8
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    melgross said:
    zoetmb said:
    melgross said:
    I'm not sure if that list is being read correctly. The top four on the list are all rated as a "20", meaning that they are all at the same level.
    Look again.  That was probably a copy and paste error on the web page.   When I go to the link, it's 20, 19, 18, etc.   
    in several pages it's 20 for the top 4.
    I'm seeing 1, 2, 3, and 4 too Mel, with Mr Cook at 4. 
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