<-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://people/profile/14014370","_id":"0000018f-5a96-d4b6-a98f-ffb7fc8b0000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Tim Cook-bsp-bb-link> has transformed <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/AAPL%20US%20Equity/BICO","_id":"0000018f-5a96-d4b6-a98f-ffb7fc8c0000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Apple Inc.-bsp-bb-link> since taking over as chief executive officer from <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://people/profile/1502077","_id":"0000018f-5a96-d4b6-a98f-ffb7fc8c0001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Steve Jobs-bsp-bb-link> in 2011, introducing new product categories (the smartwatch), pushing into new businesses (streaming video), and making an audacious attempt to take a new type of computing (mixed reality) mainstream. He’s served for far longer than the average Fortune 500 CEO, and, at 63, is older than many of his peers. But if it seems like a logical time for Cook to start planning for someone else to shape Apple’s next chapter, the situation is complicated by the lack of someone who’s both ready immediately and likely to be a long-term successor.