Tim
Cook

In 2016, Cook accomplished something never achieved by his charismatic predecessor, Steve Jobs, taking Apple into the top 10 of the Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest companies.

Although Cook has a conservative demeanor befitting someone who began his career in the button-down corporate environs of IBM, the 56-year-old has made some subtly bold moves since joining Apple as SVP of operations in 1998, from closing factories and warehouses to cut costs to becoming the first executive of a Fortune 500 company to publicly identify as gay.

Declining sales (particularly in China) of iPhones – which account for more than 60% of Apple’s revenues – put a dent in profits in 2016, but, in the company’s Q3 earnings call, Cook took an optimistic view, noting that in 2016 more customers switched from Android to iPhone than ever before.

Under his oversight, Apple also continues to make progress on the development of Apple TV, though an anticipated foray into offering a pay-TV bundle has yet to materialize.

While Cook refused to confirm rumors that the company is developing a driverless car, he’s been pushing forward with the R&D required to make it a reality. He doubled down on the development of its once-lambasted Apple Maps technology, and the company sent a letter to the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, lobbying for more lenient regulations and revealing that it is “investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation.”

The next big test for Cook will be the viability of iPhone 8, expected to launch before the end of 2017.