8 years ago
Friday, October 5, 2012
How Apple has changed under Tim Cook
In the year since Steve Jobs' death, Apple has undergone a gradual and subtle brand makeover, shaking off some of the more unpleasant characteristics associated with Jobs and taking on bits of the personality of its new leader, Tim Cook.
For all his brilliance at product design, Jobs showed little interest in glad-handing with Apple partners or investors. By contrast, Apple from the outside has appeared more open under Cook, thanks to a number of orchestrated meetings and trips meant to appeal to the various factions -- consumers, investors and politicians -- interested in the world's leading tech company.
In May, Cook went to Washington to meet with congressional leaders to open lines of communication that were mostly blocked in previous years. Apple was no stranger to lobbying (although it spends far less than some other Silicon Valley companies, like Google), but sending Cook was a way of letting politicians know Apple was ready to grow its relationship with Capitol Hill and that the company might take a stronger interest in policy issues in the future.
Apple also has worked harder to woo Wall Street. There was a bus tour of investors that stopped at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, where they were treated to cookies and a presentation by Apple's chief financial officer.
A more sizable act of goodwill was the cash dividend Apple paid out to investors -- the first in 17 years. On a call with investors in February, Cook answered questions, cracked jokes and was generally open and friendly.
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