Tim Cook has been CEO of Apple for just one year and a half recent top was named the most powerful person in the US telecommunications industry. Cook has been the CEO of Apple for only a year, but being at the head of such an important company, he has the privilege of occupying the first position in this study. Tim Cook was chosen because the iPhone is so popular in the US and has such high sales, this being practically one of the essential factors in the ordering of the top.
It should come as no surprise then that Cook wields enormous power in the wireless industry. After all, the iPhone accounted for fully 77 percent of smartphone sales at AT&T Mobility. Cook's power, as directed through the iPhone and iPad, translates into tremendous mindshare among US smartphone users (Apple's iPhone launches generate nationwide headlines) and intense customer loyalty (the iPhone routinely receives top marks in customer satisfaction surveys). What this means is that Cook's every decision with the iPhone, and Apple's wireless business in general, can have an enormous impact on the market, ranging from the wireless carriers that sell Apple gadgets to the companies that supply components for the devices to companies that compete against Apple in phones and tablets.
In the top 25 most powerful people in the US telecommunications industry, Tim Cook is followed by Larry Page, CEO of Google, Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon, Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T and Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint. Tim Cook is the only CEO of a tech company in the top 5 of the study, the presidents of Amazon, Samsung and Qualcomm being ranked 7th, 8th and 9th.
