Tim Cook

Tim Cook became CEO of Apple one year ago yesterday, following the retirement of Steve Jobs. A soft-spoken, measured, methodical gentleman from the South, he'd been Apple's COO for years, and ran the company on several occasions during Steve Jobs' medical leaves of absence. A logistical and supply-chain genius, he took Apple from being better if more expensive, to much better at prices the competition couldn't begin to match. He helped take Apple from a computer company with a small if premium market share to a consumer electronic juggernaut that could launch products across the world at an unbelievable pace.

During Apple's Q3 2012 conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook repeatedly addressed the rumors and speculation surrounding new iPhones (and other Apple products) and how they cause Apple to lose sales of current generation products. Rumors likely refers to the stories sites like iMore post that reveal potential Apple product plans like the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. Speculation likely refers to customers noticing Apple's habit of releasing new iPhones and iPads every year, and then anticipating similar release schedules the next year.

As the head of a publicly traded company -- THE most publicly traded company -- when asked on the D10 Conference stage about ongoing patent litigation, Apple's Tim Cook went straight into CEO mode.