The year he turned 22, he graduated from Auburn University with a degree in industrial engineering and began his career at IBM. The year he turned 28, he earned an M.B.A. from Duke University.
The year he turned 34, he left IBM to become chief operating officer of the Reseller Division at Intelligent Electronics. The year he turned 37, he joined Compaq as vice president of Corporate Materials. The year he turned 38, he left Compaq after six months to join Apple, where Steve Jobs had offered him a position.
The year he turned 45, Jobs named him Apple’s chief operating officer. The year he turned 49, he ran Apple as interim CEO while Jobs was on leave.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 51, he took over Apple’s day-to-day operations in January when Jobs went on medical leave, and on August 24 Apple’s board named him CEO after Jobs resigned.
The year he turned 53, Auburn University gave him a lifetime achievement award. The year he turned 54, Apple announced the Apple Watch in September, and in October he wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek that he was gay. The year he turned 55, Apple released the Apple Watch, and he said he planned to give away his fortune before he dies.
The year he turned 56, Apple introduced AirPods. The year he turned 57, the University of Glasgow conferred an honorary Doctorate of Science on him. The year he turned 58, Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market cap. The year he turned 60, Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach $2 trillion.
The year he turned 61, he marked ten years as CEO and appeared on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people. The year he turned 62, Apple became the first U.S. company to reach a $3 trillion market cap, and he received an honorary master’s degree from the University of Naples Federico II.
The year he turned 63, he introduced Vision Pro at Apple’s developers conference. The year he turned 64, Apple said Vision Pro would go on sale in the U.S. on February 2. The year he turned 65, Apple’s market capitalization topped $4 trillion in October.
The year he turned 66, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in February, Apple announced on April 20 that John Ternus would succeed him, Apple briefly touched $5 trillion in July, and on September 1 Ternus became CEO with Cook as executive chairman.
Tim Cook (born Nov 1, 1960) began his career at IBM in 1982, the year he turned 22. On Aug 24, 2011, the year he turned 51, Apple’s board named him CEO after Steve Jobs resigned. He stepped down as CEO on Sep 1, 2026.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Began his career at IBM after college. He worked there for 12 years, Business Insider reports.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tab CNN gives the year only.Graduated with a B.S. in industrial engineering.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Auburn University · Apple CEO, Auburn alumnus elected to National Academy of Engineering · opens in a new tabEarned an M.B.A. from Duke while working at IBM.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tab CNN gives the year; Business Insider says he took night classes.Became chief operating officer of the company’s Reseller Division.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tab Year only.Joined Compaq as vice president of Corporate Materials.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tab Year only.Left Compaq after six months to join Apple, where Steve Jobs had offered him a position. He started as senior vice president of worldwide operations.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tab CNN gives March 1998; the day is not given.Steve Jobs named him chief operating officer.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabRan Apple as interim CEO while Steve Jobs was on a leave of absence.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tab The sources give the year only.When Jobs took a medical leave, Cook, then chief operating officer, became responsible for Apple’s day-to-day operations.
Source 04 · BBC News · Apple boss Steve Jobs takes ‘medical leave’ · opens in a new tabSource 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabApple’s board named him CEO, and Jobs became chairman. Apple said he had 13 years of service at the company and had been responsible for worldwide sales and operations as COO.
Received a lifetime achievement award from his alma mater.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabCook described the watch as a comprehensive health and fitness device and as a precise, customizable timepiece.
Source 06 · The Verge · Apple Watch announced · opens in a new tabBusiness Insider describes him as the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Source 01 · CNN · Tim Cook Fast Facts · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tabBusiness Insider calls it Apple’s first entirely new product in the post-Jobs era.
Source 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tabSource 16 · CBC News · Apple announces new VR headset Vision Pro · opens in a new tab Business Insider gives the year only.The Guardian reported that he planned to give away all of his fortune, then nearly $800m, before he dies.
Source 07 · The Guardian · Tim Cook plans to donate $800m fortune to charity before he dies · opens in a new tab Date is the article’s publication date.Apple introduced its wireless earbuds.
Source 05 · Business Insider · Tim Cook’s rise to the head of Apple · opens in a new tab Business Insider gives the year only.Conferred an honorary Doctorate of Science, the first honorary degree he had accepted from a UK university.
Source 08 · University of Glasgow · Apple CEO Tim Cook receives honorary Doctorate of Science · opens in a new tab Date is the university’s publication date.Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market cap. Its share price had grown fourfold since Cook replaced Jobs, The Guardian reports.
Source 09 · CNBC · Apple hangs onto its historic $1 trillion market cap · opens in a new tabSource 10 · The Guardian · Apple becomes world’s first trillion-dollar company · opens in a new tabApple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market cap, doubling in value in just over two years.
Source 11 · CNBC · Apple becomes first U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market cap · opens in a new tabBBC News reported that Apple’s share price had risen 1,200% since he became chief executive on August 24, 2011.
Source 12 · BBC News · Apple chief executive Tim Cook gets $750m payout · opens in a new tab Date is the article’s publication date.Time’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2021 included Cook, along with Elon Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
Source 13 · CNET · Tim Cook, Elon Musk among Time’s 100 most influential people of 2021 · opens in a new tabApple briefly hit a $3 trillion market cap during trading, the first U.S. company to reach it, CNBC reported.
Source 14 · CNBC · Apple becomes first U.S. company to reach $3 trillion market cap · opens in a new tabReceived an honorary master’s degree in Innovation and International Management from the University of Naples Federico II.
Source 15 · 9to5Mac · Tim Cook picks up a Master’s degree in Italy · opens in a new tabIntroduced the Vision Pro headset at Apple’s developers conference, with a starting price of $3,499 in the U.S. CBC News called it Apple’s first major product launch since the Apple Watch in 2015.
Source 16 · CBC News · Apple announces new VR headset Vision Pro · opens in a new tabApple said Vision Pro would be available in the U.S. beginning February 2, with pre-orders opening January 19.
Source 17 · Apple Newsroom · Apple Vision Pro available in the U.S. on February 2 · opens in a new tab Based on Apple’s announcement; sales coverage was not checked.Apple’s market capitalization passed $4 trillion.
Source 18 · Yahoo Finance · Apple tops $5 trillion market cap · opens in a new tab Yahoo Finance gives the month only.Elected to the Class of 2026 for advancing technological innovation, environmental sustainability and leadership in the supply chain of consumer electronics.
Source 02 · Auburn University · Apple CEO, Auburn alumnus elected to National Academy of Engineering · opens in a new tabApple said John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, would become CEO on September 1, with Cook becoming executive chairman.
Source 19 · Apple Newsroom · Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman, John Ternus to become Apple CEO · opens in a new tabSource 20 · CNBC · Apple taps John Ternus as CEO to replace Tim Cook · opens in a new tabApple briefly became the second publicly traded company to reach $5 trillion in market value, less than a year after topping $4 trillion.
Source 18 · Yahoo Finance · Apple tops $5 trillion market cap · opens in a new tabJohn Ternus took over as CEO. Cook had led Apple for 15 years.
Source 21 · GSMArena · Tim Cook steps down as CEO of Apple, John Ternus takes over · opens in a new tabSource 22 · Observer · New Apple CEO John Ternus moves to overhaul the company · opens in a new tabSource 19 · Apple Newsroom · Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman, John Ternus to become Apple CEO · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 1982–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Business · United States
Nov 1, 1960 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1960: the year of the event minus 1960, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.30 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.