Tim Cook makes TIME's shortlist for 2014 "Person of the Year"
Apple CEO Tim Cook has made the shortlist for TIME magazine's 2014 Person of the Year, joining seven other candidates from across the social, political, and entertainment sectors of the world. TIME is recognizing Cook for both his business and social achievements this year. Here's its synopsis of why he's Person of the Year material.
Tim Cook, who introduced Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple Watch, and Apple Pay this year, and whose decision to come out made him the first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were incredible successes for Apple this year, selling millions of units and crushing records the month they were released. In just the first weekend of sales, Apple sold 10 million units between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. While the Apple Watch wasn't released this year, excitement for the device is high after it was introduced earlier this year.
As mentioned in TIME's nomination, Tim Cook became the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company in October. At the time, Cook explained why he had never addressed the subject publicly before, and what prompted the revelation.
I don't consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy.
Cook joins other public figures including the Ebola caregivers, Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Taylor Swift, Russian president Vladimir Putin, the acting president of the Iraqi Kurdish Region Masoud Barzani, and the Ferguson protestors in the nominations.
TIME will announce its person of the year on the Today show Wednesday morning.
