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Tim Cook Named Keynote Speaker at Startup Fest Europe in Late May

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple CEO Tim Cook has been named as one of several tech industry executives that will speak at Startup Fest Europe, a festival geared towards helping startups grow faster, according to the event website.
Tim Cook (Apple) and Travis Kalanick (Uber) have accepted their invitation to come to the Netherlands with great enthusiasm. Neelie Kroes (special envoy StartupDelta) personally invited Cook and Kalanick during her visit to San Francisco together with Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
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Cook is scheduled to speak on Tuesday, May 24 at 11:10 a.m. local time for approximately 35 minutes. The topic of the discussion has not been revealed, but Cook will likely reflect on his CEO role and operational background at Apple since joining the company in 1998.

Other international keynote speakers scheduled to speak on May 24 include Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, Uber co-founder/CEO Travis Kalanick, Seedcamp co-founder Reshma Sohoni, Adyen co-founder Pieter van der Does, Elastic co-founder/CEO Steven Schuurman, Booking.com COO Gillian Tans, The Netherlands P.M. Mark Rutte, European Commission VP Andrus Ansip, and Atomico partner Mattias Ljungman.

Cook has maintained a busy agenda this month, starting with appearances on CNBC's Mad Money and at Met Gala 2016 on Monday. He will also reportedly visit Beijing later in May to meet with high-level Chinese government officials as Apple looks to counter a series of recent setbacks in the country. Meanwhile, a recent charity auction for a one-hour lunch date with Cook raised more than $500,000 for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The lunch will take place by May 5, 2017.

Startup Fest Europe takes place between May 24-28 in Amsterdam.

(Thanks, Maarten!)

Article Link: Tim Cook Named Keynote Speaker at Startup Fest Europe in Late May
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/06/tim-cook-keynote-speaker-startup-fest-europe/
mdriftmeyer said:
Two of the dullest Keynote speakers of our time. Tim is great behind the scenes but is abysmal as a public speaker. He has the charisma of a white wall drying in a white room.
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haha i have to agree. the way he talks is torture to my ears.

"toniiiiiiiiiight we are going to show youuuuuuu incredible things we have been working oooooooon"
 
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That cover reminds me of a horror movie from the 80s "starring Tim Cook as Freddy Krueger"
 
What part of Tim Cook's resume makes it seem like he's a good fit for being the keynote speaker of a startup event?

1978-1982: BS in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University
1982-1986: IBM
1986-1988: MBA from Duke
1988-1996: More IBM (Ultimately rose to director of NA PC fulfillment)
1996-1998: Compaq (Ultimately rose to VP of Corporate Supplies)
1998-?: Apple (Ultimately rose to CEO)

It seems to me that all of these positions are great for giving you experience in managing large, established companies...

None of it gives you experience in managing a startup, securing financing, getting an audience, hiring your initial team, not running out of money, and ultimately how to transfer from being a wobbly startup to being an established company.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like how you should properly manage one is not how you should properly manage the other.
 
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Hmm. There has to be joke in there somewhere: what do you get when you cross 8 Entrepreneurs, 2 Regulators, and a Tim Cook?
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
What part of Tim Cook's resume makes it seem like he's a good fit for being the keynote speaker of a startup event?

1978-1982: BS in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University
1982-1986: IBM
1986-1988: MBA from Duke
1988-1996: More IBM (Ultimately rose to director of NA PC fulfillment)
1996-1998: Compaq (Ultimately rose to VP of Corporate Supplies)
1998-?: Apple (Ultimately rose to CEO)

It seems to me that all of these positions are great for giving you experience in managing large, established companies...

None of it gives you experience in managing a startup, securing financing, getting an audience, hiring your initial team, not running out of money, and ultimately how to transfer from being a wobbly startup to being an established company.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like how you should properly manage one is not how you should properly manage the other.
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From what I understand, Apple still has a vested interest in Braeburn Capital. Braeburn is an investment vehicle and one of the largest hedgefunds on the planet; located on the same city block as a major casino game manufacturer. Braeburn was created to manage Apple's wealth.

So, let's say, (in an alternative universe) that Apple's PR and corporate communications is actually a function of its hedgefund investments. Then, in that alternative universe, Apple's advertising, marketing, PR events and product launches (with feature apps and accessory manufacturers) starts to make more sense; especially if the products on-stage are financially backed by Braeburn. Still, this hedge fund with access to a rumored $205,000,000,000.00 remains a Reno, Nevada Corporation; Nevada corporations don't have nearly as many disclosure requirements (such as shareholder names or business disclosure) that The State of California would require.

Still, like it or not, Apple had an Apple Employee who committed suicide last week, and the Cupertino Mayor saying that Apple isn't paying any taxes to the city. Ever since those two event occurred, it's almost as if someone bought Apple's marketing and PR department an Espresso Machine. :rolleyes:
 
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Blah, blah, blah.....just like Ive recently spent time at some design-fest for the idle rich, here's the CEO mouthing off at some conference. Stay home and fix the company - declining software quality, no innovations that are big enough to move the stock price, comical product launches (although that one is quite good because it always makes me laugh out loud how good they have become at self parody....I swear they must be running a sweepstake in the boardroom as to how long they can keep the " oooh, Ive has made it another micron thinner" gag going. Or at least it would be funny if they wern't pocketing so much of the shareholders profits for themselves).
 
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