How Tim Cook made Apple one of the world’s most valuable companies

When Tim Cook became Apple’s CEO in August 2011, he had big shoes to fill. His predecessor, Steve Jobs, was widely considered one of the world’s greatest innovators. Now, 15 years later, Cook has catapulted the company to stratospheric heights by forging his own path. His successor, hardware engineering chief John Ternus, has a very different act to follow on September 1. Cook will be remembered for making the iPhone feel essential to everything from buying a coffee to listening to music, hitting the gym or paying a credit card bill. That’s all thanks to the web services and accessories Cook pioneered over the past decade. Apple’s stock has soared by more than 2,000% during his time at the helm. The company also briefly reached a $5 trillion market capitalization in July, the second company to ever reach that milestone.