Apple’s Privacy Fight Tests Relationship With White House; New York Times, 2/26/16

Michael D. Shear and Katie Benner, New York Times; Apple’s Privacy Fight Tests Relationship With White House:

"Current and former White House officials say Mr. Obama appreciated the attention that Mr. Cook brought to issues like immigration, gay marriage and climate change. When Mr. Obama solicited Apple and other companies to support his ConnectED program for technology in schools, Mr. Obama praised Mr. Cook’s decision to pledge $100 million worth of iPads and MacBooks, calling it “an enormous commitment.”

There were also tensions. White House officials were not happy about Apple’s decision to shelter billions of dollars in offshore accounts and have repeatedly pressed Mr. Cook to explain the company’s need to build its blockbuster products in China rather than in the United States.

But the encryption debate, and the government’s legal action against Apple last week, are testing the relationship with the company more than any other.

“A company thinks very hard before it defies the government,” said Nicole Wong, who was Google’s lead lawyer when Google resisted a Justice Department request for user data. But if a disagreement happens, “it’s not bad for this policy conversation to happen transparently in a court proceeding.”"

Apple Makes Shifts in Senior Management; New York Times, 12/17/15

Katie Benner, New York Times; Apple Makes Shifts in Senior Management:

"Apple’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, is continuing to make over the company’s executive ranks.

On Thursday, Apple made several shifts in its senior management team, including the promotion of a longtime executive, Jeff Williams, to the job of chief operating officer, a position that had gone unfilled since 2011...

The changes, which include new leadership in the company’s hardware and marketing divisions, are the latest executive moves by Mr. Cook, who became chief of Apple in 2011. Early in his tenure, Mr. Cook shook up the management team that had been put in place by his predecessor, Steven P. Jobs, by pushing out Scott Forstall, the mobile software head."

Donald Trump's Arrogance Is Outdated In Corporate America; Huffington Post, 7/20/15

Emily Peck, Huffington Post; Donald Trump's Arrogance Is Outdated In Corporate America:

"Apple CEO Tim Cook also embodies the new leadership style. Cook’s been outspoken in his support for gay rights, first coming out as gay in an October 2014 essay for Bloomberg Businessweek, then becoming a high-profile advocate for the LGBT community. He even chastised his home state of Alabama over its treatment of poor people and minorities.

“Here’s a guy who seems to stand up for what he thinks is right,” said Kiel. “He’s also open to admitting mistakes.”

Cook’s 2012 apology for a botched rollout of mapping software stood in sharp contrast to the non-apology offered by his predecessor, Steve Jobs, over an iPhone glitch in 2010.

Under Cook, Apple’s financials have soared.

CEOs who display character run companies that perform better financially, according to Kiel’s research -- an exhaustive seven-year study of 84 CEOs across multiple industries.

Kiel defined character using four moral principles: integrity, responsibility, forgiveness and compassion. He also came up with a list of 25 behaviors and attributes that embody these principles, like “telling the truth,” “forgiveness” and “owning up to your mistakes.”

He and his team asked CEOs to assess themselves on these traits, and asked their employees how they would rank their CEOs on the same metrics. They discovered that the CEOs who were graded as having the strongest character brought in five times more for the bottom line than the low-character CEOs.

The CEOs at the bottom, said Kiel, tended to see the world as a dangerous place where people would take advantage of you. They didn’t always tell the truth. They placed their own financial security over the well-being of their company and their employees. Their workers didn’t trust them."

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook: Diversity Is ‘the Future of Our Company’; Time, 6/8/15

John Kell, Time; Apple’s CEO Tim Cook: Diversity Is ‘the Future of Our Company’ :

"Apple’s CEO Tim Cook doesn’t mince words when asked about the importance of diversity: “I think the most diverse group will produce the best product, I firmly believe that.”

In an interview with Mashable ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) Monday, Cook told the website that Apple is a “better company” by being more diverse. He says a lack of diversity in tech isn’t because women don’t want to be involved in the sector. Instead, Cook places the blame on the broader tech community saying generally, “We haven’t done enough to reach out to show young women that it’s cool to do it and how much fun it can be.”

Apple is certainly part of the problem. A workforce data report last year showed that just 30% of its global workforce is female. And leadership positions at Apple skew even more white and male than the broader workforce. Cook has in the past said he’s not satisfied with the numbers."

Tim Cook: Pro-discrimination ‘religious freedom’ laws are dangerous; Washington Post, 3/29/15

Tim Cook, Washington Post; Tim Cook: Pro-discrimination ‘religious freedom’ laws are dangerous:

"These bills rationalize injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear. They go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality...

I have great reverence for religious freedom. As a child, I was baptized in a Baptist church, and faith has always been an important part of my life. I was never taught, nor do I believe, that religion should be used as an excuse to discriminate.

I remember what it was like to grow up in the South in the 1960s and 1970s. Discrimination isn’t something that’s easy to oppose. It doesn’t always stare you in the face. It moves in the shadows. And sometimes it shrouds itself within the very laws meant to protect us.

Our message, to people around the country and around the world, is this: Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination...

This isn’t a political issue. It isn’t a religious issue. This is about how we treat each other as human beings. Opposing discrimination takes courage. With the lives and dignity of so many people at stake, it’s time for all of us to be courageous."