Vice Chairman of Emeritus and former Co-founder and Chairman of the marketing tech company Zeta Global on Monday said that the current Apple CEO Tim Cook may be planning to retire soon. He said this while speaking at the Zeta Live conference in New York City last week. He further added that whoever replaces Tim Cook will have to spearhead Apple into a new agentic era, moving beyond the existing apps era.
John Sculley had once been the Apple CEO from 1983 to 1993. During his tenure as CEO, Sculley had a tense relationship with Steve Jobs. It was during this period that Jobs left Apple before returning in 1997.
Reports of Tim Cook stepping down as CEO have increased over the last few weeks. In an earlier report, Mark Gurman said that hardware engineering chief John Ternus is positioned as the leading candidate to replace him.
Gurman’s reports further suggest that Apple’s PR and marketing teams have increasingly spotlighted Ternus. Ternus had introduced the iPhone Air and led customer events at Apple’s Regent Street store in London, a ceremonial role Cook previously filled.
Ex-Apple CEO Calls OpenAI Apple’s First Real Competitor
Sculley criticized Apple’s AI growth, stating that “AI has not been a particular strength for them.” He further added that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is the company’s first real competitor in decades.
“When we had apps at the center of everything, it was selling tools, selling products,” Sculley said. He further added, “In the agentic era, we don’t need a lot of apps- it can all be done with smart agents.”
“When you think of subscription, it’s about people paying for something as long as they need it,” he continued, emphasizing that subscriptions offer a much better business model.
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