4 minBusiness
Tim Cook invokes Steve Jobs in final message to Apple employees
Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook's farewell letter to employees echoes his first message from 2011, invoking Steve Jobs's legacy and expressing confidence in incoming CEO John Ternus.
Tim Cook has sent his final message to Apple employees as CEO, and the letter bears a striking resemblance to the one he wrote when he first took the job in 2011. In both messages, Cook invoked the legacy of Steve Jobs, the company's co-founder, whose shadow continues to shape Apple's identity and culture.
Cook's tenure officially ended this week, with John Ternus stepping in as only the third person to hold the CEO role this century. Jobs was the first, and his influence on the company has not diminished since his death in 2011. Cook's farewell letter, published by 9to5Mac, leaned heavily on Jobs's famous phrase about leaving a mark on the world.
«We have made it possible to leave our 'dent in the universe,' as Steve once described it, because of who we are and what we believe, because of what we value and how we see the world,» Cook wrote. «How fortunate we are. How fortunate I am.»
The parallel to 2011 is clear. On August 29 of that year, when Cook assumed the CEO role after Jobs stepped down due to health issues, his first internal letter to employees addressed the same themes. At the time, anxiety ran high inside Apple about whether the company could maintain its creative culture without its founder at the helm.
«Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that – it is in our DNA,» Cook wrote then. «We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.»
Both letters also served a practical purpose: reassuring employees that the outgoing CEO was not truly leaving. In 2011, Cook stressed that Jobs would remain involved as chairman. «Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees,» Cook wrote. «We are really looking forward to Steve's ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.»
Jobs died just over five weeks later from pancreatic cancer, but his legacy has continued to guide the company. In his farewell letter, Cook made the same promise about his own future. «As you know, I am not leaving Apple,» he wrote. «But I am stepping away from a role that I have loved deeply.»
Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman of the Board of Directors, where one of his primary duties will be serving as a liaison between Apple and governments, including those of the United States and China. He told employees he looked forward to seeing them in his new role at Apple Park and around the world.
Finally, both letters expressed optimism about what lies ahead. In 2011, Cook said he shared «Steve's optimism for Apple's bright future» and concluded, «I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.»
His 2026 letter struck the same tone, expressing confidence in Ternus. «[I] take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John,» Cook wrote. «Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership.»
