Tim Cook: Apple's New CEO and the Most Powerful Gay Man Ameri

Contents:

• WATCH TIM COOK EXPLA WHY HE CAME OUT AS GAY
• MEET APPLE'S NEW BOSS, THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN SILIN VALLEY
• GAY, PROUD AND PRO-LIFE
• WHY IS APPLE'S TIM COOK THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO OF A MAJOR US FIRM?
• TIM COOK: BEG GAY IS GOD’S GREATT GIFT TO ME
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT AS GAY: I'M PROUD
• N.J. ASSEMBLY NDIDATE WOULD BE STATE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY REPUBLIN LAWMAKER
• TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI
• APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS 'PROUD TO BE GAY'
• TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI

WATCH TIM COOK EXPLA WHY HE CAME OUT AS GAY

Apple CEO Tim Cook says he felt a “tremendo rponsibily” to publicly e out as gay. Though many of the people he works wh already knew he was gay, Cook says, his cisn to speak up was spired by a Dr.

MEET APPLE'S NEW BOSS, THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN SILIN VALLEY

If the CEO don't return om his third, fe medil leave, COO Tim Cook will succeed him, markg a new era not only for Apple but for gay, who is nng Apple Jobs' absence, has been as reticent to acknowledge his sexual orientatn as he has his prows overseeg the pany supply cha. Cook's rise to his posn—he is one of the most powerful rporate executiv the world, to say nothg of beg the most powerful gay person tech by a e—is also a tribute to his skill and work ethic on the one hand, and to the utterly unnventnal and unnventnally empowerg people skills of Jobs on the other. "Romantic terts: After Cook was profiled as a "lifelong bachelor" and "tensely private" elsewhere, we wonred if he might be gay.

GAY, PROUD AND PRO-LIFE

One tech executive who has spoken to multiple Apple management veterans about Cook was told executiv there would support Cook if he publicly acknowledged his orientatn, and even would enurage him to do so as he steps up his learship role, but that they also had ncerns about whether his g out would impact the perceptn of the Apple would be, by far, the most powerful openly gay executive tech, trailed by Microsoft's openly lbian HR chief Lisa Bmmel and by Megan Smh, the former PlaOut CEO now workg as Google's vice print of new bs velopment. Is Steve Cook Gay? He is neher gay nor bisexual and has no such mors.

Steve Cook flched as a heckler hollered, “You’re a traor to the gay muny. ” One of the signs Cook held read, “Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lbians, ” and the other “Killg children never advanc gay rights. There’s a gay man among them.

Cook, a bisexual and a member of the Pro-life Alliance of Gays and Lbians (PLAGAL), is part of a growg movement the gay and lbian muny to let people know that there is good reason to be pro-life and gay.

WHY IS APPLE'S TIM COOK THE ONLY OPENLY GAY CEO OF A MAJOR US FIRM?

“As gays and lbians, we are unwanted by society, ” said Cecilia Brown, print of PLAGAL, “so we n sympathize wh the unborn child, who is not wanted. ” Brown believ that the termatg of those emed unsirable is ght wh tertg paradox for the gay muny: “What if one day the gay gene is found and women beg to abort babi bee they don’t want to have a gay child?

TIM COOK: BEG GAY IS GOD’S GREATT GIFT TO ME

What will the gay pro-choicers say then? Beard, an attorney, worked pro-bono for many pro-life anizatns but was trated when he was told that he had to be quiet about his homosexualy.

Not wishg to hi eher his homosexualy or pro-life views, Beard helped form PLAGAL. “A disproportnate amount of the early pro-life attorneys were gay, ” explaed Maria Krasski, a board member of PLAGAL.

Sce s foundg, members of PLAGAL have marched pro-life ralli, set up tabl at Gay Pri events, sponsored foms, published newsletters and op-ed piec both the straight and gay prs. “As gays and lbians, we are unwanted by society, so we n sympathize wh the unborn child, who is not wanted.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK OUT AS GAY: I'M PROUD

Acrdg to Ann Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Actn League based Chigo, while the pro-life muny is largely opposed to homosexual practice there is still much to admire about PLAGAL. “But for someone who is gay—and not likely to be facg that choice—’s a selfls and noble thg to be ncerned about the unborn.

Image source, Getty ImagIt's pretty startlg that among the chief executiv of the 500 biggt US pani only one, Tim Cook of Apple, is openly claratn this week that he is "proud to be gay" was hailed as an important moment for the gay muny. Campaigners say they know of boss of other big firms who are gay, but are reluctant to be open about hope Mr Cook's public acknowledgement will spur them to e what is holdg them back? Changg tim"When I was at universy, people who did gay thgs, homosexual acts, ually went to prison and stayed there a long time, " Lord Browne said an terview wh the BBC earlier this rigned as chief executive of BP 2007 after emerged that statements he had ma legal documents about a four-year relatnship he'd had wh a man had been "untthful" Lord Browne, many chief executiv would have grown up tim that were much ls tolerant of gay people.

"Societal views have changed nsirably, but that has only really been the past 10 years, " says Si Sandhu, founr of profsnal work ptn, Former BP chief executive Lord Browne says Mr Cook is "an important role mol"Gay people now their 50s and 60s uld have been keepg their sexualy a secret om lleagu for years, perhaps s. "Some of our bt lears are known for their honty and thenticy, to kd of then turn around and go, 'Actually, there's a big thg that I haven't que mentned', is que difficult, " says Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, the lbian, gay and bisexual equaly anisatn.

N.J. ASSEMBLY NDIDATE WOULD BE STATE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY REPUBLIN LAWMAKER

Executiv who do e out n expect to be a role mol for younger gay staff, which n be an add prsure. "Once you e out, you are expected to sudnly be an expert on all thgs gay, but of urse you are an expert on your job - not all thgs gay, " says Ms source, Getty ImagCommercial ncernsChief executiv uld have another ncern. The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn lists 78 untri wh crimal laws agast sexual activy by the groups of those untri are Ai, Asia and the Middle regns are growg fast and are where amb pani would be eager to Sandhu of Outstandg thks havg a gay chief executive "uld impact sal" those untri.

TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI

But that remas to be seen, as there is no data to support the Tim Cook's announcement, we might fd out over the next few years whether ctomers might nsir the sexualy of a chief executive when choosg a mobile prospectsSo what about gay people tryg to work their way through the ranks the current era? Over three-quarters of Ameri's 500 biggt pani have non-discrimatn polici that bar firg someone bee they are gay or lbian, says Jt Nelson, -founr and print of the US Natnal Gay and Lbian Chamber of he says those polici n only go so far.

"There are still tim that, even when you have a policy, the guy the cubicle next to you might have a personal belief that is not fully clive, " he source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Christopher Bailey is the only openly gay chief executive of a FTSE 100 firmSome dtri are workg harr than others to overe such UK fashn dtry n boast the only openly gay chief executive among FTSE 100 pani, after Christopher Bailey beme chief executive of Burberry earlier this Sandhu says diversy is " the DNA" of the fashn dtry is not necsarily leadg the way enuragg gay staff.

APPLE CEO TIM COOK IS 'PROUD TO BE GAY'

The buildg tra is also makg a big effort, she says, wh nstctn giant Balfour Beatty workg closely wh Stonewall to help gay staff. Dpe the efforts of mpaigng groups, many young gay people still feel unr prsure to hi their sexualy. "It's que shockg to learn that even now graduat who are openly gay at universy are gog back to the closet bee the bs world is a ltle behd, " says Mr on this story.

Tim Cook: Beg gay gave me perspective as a mory.

TIM COOK: APPLE'S NEW CEO AND THE MOST POWERFUL GAY MAN AMERI

In 2014, Tim Cook beme the first CEO of a major pany to e out as gay. Beg gay is “God’s greatt gift to me, ” he said. “I was public bee I started to receive stori om kids who read onle that I was gay, ” he told Amanpour.