Who was the CEO of Apple Inc. from 1997 to 2011?

Steve Jobs was Apple Inc.’s CEO from 1997 to 2011. He returned to the company after Apple acquired NeXT, the computer company he had founded after leaving Apple in 1985.

Jobs initially served as Apple’s interim chief executive after CEO Gil Amelio was ousted in July 1997. He was formally named interim CEO in September 1997 and dropped the word “interim” in 2000. During his leadership, Apple sharply reduced its sprawling product lineup and concentrated on a smaller group of products.

That strategy helped produce the iMac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, App Store, and iPad. Jobs resigned as CEO on August 24, 2011, because of declining health, and Tim Cook succeeded him. Jobs remained Apple’s chairman until his death later that year.

The main confusion is that Tim Cook ran Apple’s day-to-day operations during some of Jobs’s medical leaves. He became CEO only after Jobs’s resignation, so he is not the answer for the full 1997–2011 period.