$400 billion a year: The man behind the Apple empire steps down

A historic era comes to an end at the tech giant from Cupertino: Tim Cook marks today, Monday, his final day as CEO of Apple, after 15 years in the position. Starting tomorrow, September 1, a new management will take effect, and the reins will be taken by John Ternus, who has led the company's hardware engineering division in recent years.

Cook was appointed to his position in August 2011, replacing the legendary founder Steve Jobs. During a tenure filled with records, he led Apple to unprecedented financial growth: the company's market value jumped from about $350 billion to about $4 trillion, while annual revenue soared from about $108 billion to about $400 billion.

Cook's leadership was characterized by strengthening the company's ecosystem. He turned the services division (Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Pay) into a massive revenue engine generating about $109 billion a year, led the historic transition to independent processors, and expanded the portfolio with the launch of the Apple Watch and AirPods.

Cook is not leaving Apple entirely, and he will move to serve as active chairman of the board, a role in which he will continue to assist in managing contacts with regulators and governments around the world. Now, the incoming CEO Ternus receives a corporation at the peak of its power, and will be required to lead it against the most burning challenge in the industry: the artificial intelligence race and the development of the company's AI engines.