Apple’s new CEO inherits the most valuable company on earth. His job is making sure that’s not the peak. Press enter or click to view image in full size Photo by Yavor Kaludov on Unsplash 📬 This article was first published on The Nov Tech newsletter 🔗 Subscribe for exclusive analysis. Medium non-members can read over there for free. On August 24, 2011, a shockwave traveled through Silicon Valley. Steve Jobs handed the reins to Tim Cook, and half the industry predicted Apple’s decline. A company defined by one person’s taste and intuition had just lost that person. The consensus was clear: Apple without Jobs was a stock to sell, not a story to follow. Fifteen years later, that prediction looks spectacularly wrong. And yet, here we are again. Tim Cook announced on April 20, 2026, that he will step down as CEO on September 1st , transitioning to Executive Chairman.…