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On April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer in Jobs’ family garage in Los Altos, California.
Ronald Wayne departed just 12 days later after selling 10% of his stake for $800. I’m sure he’s still kicking himself to this very day.
The company started by creating the hobbyist-focused Apple I computer kit.
From there, Job and Wozniak launched the groundbreaking Apple II in 1977—one of the first mass-produced personal computers with color graphics and an integrated keyboard.
Apple Computer’s first CEO, Michael Scott, was recruited in 1977 by one of Apple’s investors, Michael Markkula, to provide mature leadership for the inexperienced young founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Scott put together early company policies and was around for the launch of the Apple II and III computers.
He was only around for a few years and stepped down as CEO in 1981 and the board in 1983.
Mike Markkula cut his teeth in Intel and Fairchild Semiconductor.
He provided crucial early funding of $250,000 to Apple in 1977, so he was the logical second choice for CEO.
Markkula put together vital business infrastructure and brought in essential employees, including recommending the next CEO—John Sculley.
In 1983—Apple recruited John Sculley from PepsiCo as its new CEO—who famously was wooed by Steve Jobs’ challenge to “change the world” rather than sell sugared water.
Sculley saw some early successes, like the Macintosh launch and rising revenues, but his relationship with Jobs was horrendous.
The two didn’t see eye to eye, so he pushed Steve Jobs out in 1985.
Sculley didn’t have any lasting success after that and was ultimately removed as CEO in 1993 after failing to innovate and losing Apple’s market share to competitors.
In 1993, Michael Spindler succeeded John Sculley as Apple’s CEO, inheriting a company in freefall.
Apple was struggling to adapt to the shifting personal computer landscape.
Spindler came with operational experience and was successful at new initiatives like licensing Mac OS.
His tenure was basically a failure and was fired in 1996 after failing to reverse Apple’s downward trajectory and losing ground to Windows PCs.
Gil Amelio became Apple’s CEO to rescue it from declining sales and mounting losses.
His time was marred by controversial moves, including a $400 million Microsoft deal and restructuring efforts.
After just 18 months of turmoil, Amelio was ousted in July 1997.
The company needed innovative leadership, and it needed it fast.
After orchestrating his return via Apple’s acquisition of NeXT and a subsequent boardroom coup, Steve Jobs brought the company back to life by streamlining product lines, focusing on design, and expanding into new categories like portable music players and smartphones.
He helped set up Apple on a path to dominance that continued even after his death from cancer just weeks after his resignation in 2011.
Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs as Apple’s CEO in August 2011.
Inheriting the role of the iconic innovator was a tough pill to swallow.
He initially faced skepticism about filling Jobs’ shoes.
However, Cook has gone on to forge his own highly successful era at Apple, overseeing massive expansion into services and new product categories like the Apple Watch.
He’s helped grow the company exponentially and established himself as a distinctive leader who maintained Apple’s innovative culture.
His core vision has been focused on operational excellence, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility.
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