The new guy who’s soon to be in charge at Apple has big shoes to fill, and he can’t follow in his predecessors’ footsteps.<\/p>\n
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Longtime Apple investor and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton told Business Insider that Apple’s incoming CEO should follow the advice Steve Jobs once gave his successor, Tim Cook.<\/p>\n
Jobs encouraged Cook, who was better known for his operational prowess than as a product visionary, to do things his own way when he became CEO in 2011.<\/p>\n
“He said to Tim Cook, When you’ve got to make a decision, don’t say to yourself, what would Steve Jobs do? You do what you think is the best thing for the company,” Tarkenton said.<\/p>\n
Cook previously spoke about Jobs’ words at a 2011 memorial tribute<\/a>, Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, is set to succeed Tim Cook as CEO in September. His hardware background marks a return to the product-focused leadership of Jobs’ era<\/a>,\u00a0rather than\u00a0Cook’s focus on services and chips made by Apple.<\/p>\n Ternus is “the right guy at the right time,” Tarkenton said. The eyes of the tech industry are on Apple to deliver its next big innovation or make a meaningful move in the AI arms race.<\/p>\n Tarkenton said Cook has been “terrific”\u00a0for Apple\u00a0and has grown its\u00a0services business into a behemoth that outpaces some of its products in revenue. But, he said, Ternus has to rely on his 25 years of experience at Apple to be successful.<\/p>\n “He cannot be Tim Cook,” Tarkenton said.<\/p>\n