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Apr 12, 2001
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TIME today unveiled its shortlist of people who are being considered for TIME's annual Person of the Year Award. Apple CEO Tim Cook is on the list, as well as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

The Person of the Year award is given to "a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine" that has "for better or for worse done the most to influence the events of the year." TIME's editorial team decides the winner.

The two tech CEOs join notable figures like Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who suffered a head wound after being shot by the Taliban, United States President Barack Obama, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the three scientists behind the discovery of the Higgs Boson.

In 2011, Steve Jobs was posthumously nominated for TIME's Person of the Year by NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams, but he did not win. He also did not make it to the final shortlist. This year, Cook has worked to bring some production of Apple products back to the United States, and to improve working conditions for factory employees. He also stepped up to accept responsibility for Apple's Maps failure and restructured Apple's management.

The Protestor, a group choice inspired by Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian fruit vendor who famously set himself on fire in a public square, received the award in 2011, while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg won in 2010.

TIME's 2012 winner for Person of the Year will be announced tomorrow morning.

Article Link: Tim Cook Makes Shortlist for TIME's 2012 Person of the Year
 

aerok

macrumors 65816
Oct 29, 2011
1,491
139
I wish they didn't nominate any CEOs in the list... It should be reserved to actual heroes of the world that actually thrived to make changes to help humanity without any profit-driven intent.
 
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LagunaSol

macrumors 601
Apr 3, 2003
4,798
0
I think Cook is doing a great job, but Person of the Year seems premature. Much like Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize his first year in office. :rolleyes:

And why in the world would Bill Clinton even be on the consideration list???
 

mantan

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2009
1,742
1,030
DFW
Let me get this straight, the article is giving him credit for bringing 200 jobs to the US, encouraging FoxConn to be just a semi-sweat shop instead of full sweat shop and apologizing for the Maps Fiasco and that's worth 'Person of the Year'???

That's flat out laughable.
 

Patriot24

macrumors 68030
Dec 29, 2010
2,813
805
California
If this award was handed-out by looking at the top Google search terms for the year, Kate Middleton would have easily won.

TIME's "Person of the Year" is really "The USA's Person of the Year", and even that is debatable.

I like Tim, but he's not curing cancer. Methinks we should look elsewhere for our heroes.
 

dweezle3

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2010
196
44
Earth
In all seriousness though, I don't think Tim has made the jump to the style of management required to put out the world changing products like Steve did. Granted, he's done a great job with what disasters he's had to deal with so far, but hasn't made any unexpected or earth shattering contributions yet. Here's hoping for 2013.
 
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swingerofbirch

macrumors 68040
Within the US, I'd say the American voter, or possibly Barack Obama. But since I have a US-centric view, I can't comment on who might be more appropriate at a world level, simply because I don't know what's going on worldwide nearly as much as I do in the US. We have the world's largest GDP, but there are about 7 billion people on Earth and each of them has a world within him or her, and many of them live in worlds that are influenced by people I've never heard of.

I guess I'd also wonder if they try to pick someone who promoted free-trade in the past. China's growth has been amazing in that it continues without the boom/bust cycle we're used to, and I assume it's largely because of free trade that wealth will eventually start to equalize worldwide. Wasn't Clinton largely responsible for free trade with China? Maybe he'll get a nod again!
 

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
Why? It will still be quite some time until Apple releases a product that Jobs didn't work with. Cook hasn't had enough time to impact much.

PS- the title is really messed up
 

cfs112

macrumors member
Oct 26, 2012
87
0
Tim Cook is definitely not on Steve Job's level yet. But I like him and he is perfect as the successor as he has worked with Steve extensively in the past. By no means person of the year though.
 

FloatingBones

macrumors 65816
Jul 19, 2006
1,482
735
The Yahoo Mail service continues to fail. No CEO of a company should be on the short list if they can't even get their mail servers to work correctly.
 

Krizoitz

macrumors 68000
Apr 26, 2003
1,724
2,065
Tokyo, Japan
I wish they didn't nominate any CEOs in the list... It should be reserved to actual heroes of the world that actually thrived to make changes to help humanity without any profit-driven intent.

This is not an award or honor. It is not meant to be given to someone for being a hero. The Time Person of the Year is given to the person (or persons) who most influenced events. Past winners have included Hitler and Stalin.and the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Cook and Apple have been significantly impactful and his consideration is fair, although I don't think he should/will win.
 

mcfrazieriv

macrumors 65816
Jan 30, 2012
1,100
2,830
I was under the impression that the BTO macs were always finished up in the USA and that elements of the products (glass, parts) were manufactured in the USA. During the interview I heard him saying that he'd "like to see production in the USA" but currently there wasn't the skill set/education to do it?

And why the hell is this one man on the shortlist for person of the year? The company as a whole hasn't done anything spectacular over the last year other than grow products sold/increase their own cash pot :confused:

When Steve Jobs was nominated, he was nominated based on years of products he helped to create or dominate industries with. Last I checked, Tim Cook was good with the operations but nothing inspirational or industry revolutionary. Kind of seems these people who nominate are running out of ideas in a dead economy.
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
This is not an award or honor. It is not meant to be given to someone for being a hero. The Time Person of the Year is given to the person (or persons) who most influenced events. Past winners have included Hitler and Stalin.and the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Cook and Apple have been significantly impactful and his consideration is fair, although I don't think he should/will win.

If it's for the year 2012 - the only "accomplishment" Tim really has under his belt is keeping Apple going and thriving. But isn't that the job of any CEO? Is there something that Tim has done that has put him above everyone else in 2012?

I ask earnestly. Because I can't think of anything.
 

Mattie Num Nums

macrumors 68030
Mar 5, 2009
2,834
0
USA
Pretty sad that CEO, the people that Obama and the media are fighting against, is a person of the year nominee. You know the 1%. The guys who mark up everything 45%.
 
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