00:00:13.040Apple is stepping up its succession plans as it prepares for CEO Tim Cook to step down as soon as next year.
00:00:21.220That's according to a report in the Financial Times, which cited several people familiar with discussions.
00:00:26.760The report said that John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, is widely seen as Cook's most likely successor.
00:00:36.480Apple insiders were quoted as saying the company's board and senior executives had recently intensified plans for Cook to hand over the reins after more than 14 years at the helm.
00:00:48.220The report also said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, which covers the critical holiday period.
00:00:59.220Cook became CEO in 2011 after Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs resigned, ending his reign at the tech giant he co-founded in 1976 in his parents' garage.
00:01:13.120Yeah, so I guess you could take the approach with this of Apple wouldn't be what it is today without Tim Cook.
00:01:20.100But also you could take the approach of saying that Tim Cook was just like this conservative guy who inherited the creations that Steve Jobs already created and played it safe.
00:01:28.640And maybe, you know, was the right fit at the right time where he just did the conservative things instead of the overly aggressive things.
00:01:34.800And they blossomed into, like, the $4 trillion company because of the conservative nature of him.
00:01:40.020But also people are criticizing Apple for not being innovative enough and not doing anything with AI, not creating a lot of new products over the last couple of years.
00:01:46.580So I think it's kind of like a debate between those two things.
00:01:49.440Like, I wonder what would have happened if Steve Jobs, like, had not died and wasn't CEO from, like, until today instead of Tim Cook.
00:02:00.080I think that's something interesting to consider.
00:02:01.620I don't think it'll be, like, I think it's probably time for him to step down and it could be a good thing because they're kind of a point where they haven't done anything exciting.
00:02:18.320I think sometimes crisis happens and nobody expected him to, you know, when he got his cancer, he started doing his walks and everybody's wondering, who are you going to get?
00:02:26.940And he brought the finance guy on, a bit of a guy that's the safer guy.
00:02:30.360And he came in and he did a decent job.
00:02:32.400He took it from where it was at and right there, if you look at it, from October 5th, 2011, which is when Steve Jobs died, to today.
00:02:42.320Actually, I think, was it October 11th when he died?
00:02:44.240October 5th, 2011, yeah, when he died, to today, 2,280% return.
00:05:57.400I mean, sounds like a qualified guy for them.
00:05:59.100If you've got big plans for 2026, I am telling you right now, I can't tell you how many conversations we're having about business planning.
00:06:04.760There's a reason why we went less than 22 hours to Dallas and come back because we want to see exactly what's happening with 2026.
00:06:12.080We're planning for our family, for our businesses ourselves.
00:06:14.800And if 2026 is a big year for you as well, I want you to watch this clip.
00:06:18.300Rob, can you go to the clip with the Jenga to show them what happens when it comes on to business plan and how all of these things are necessary?