Why Is Tim Cook’s Sexual Orientation Relevant To Him Being Apple’s CEO?

I came across a posting on Valleywag titled “Meet Apple’s New Boss, The Most Powerful Gay Man in Silicon Valley” and the first thing that popped into my head were two words: Who cares? I say that because Tim Cook’s sexual orientation has no relevance to anything important. Don’t agree? Consider the following:

  • Is the fact that Cook might be gay have any effect on Apple’s product development? No.
  • Does it help make Apple more money? No.
  • Will it affect sales of Apple products by making them more desirable to the LGBT community? No.
  • Will it affect sales of Apple products by making them less desirable to straight people? No.

Face it, this is 2011. We shouldn’t be having this conversation. After all, nobody called Steve Jobs the most powerful straight main in Silicon Valley? And when you look at visible minorities, nobody called John Thompson the most powerful African American in Silicon Valley when he was CEO of Symantec. So why are we calling Cook the most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley? It’s time to get past this need to label people and get back to the issue in hand. Can Tim Cook run Apple as good or better than Steve Jobs?

That’s the only thing that matters.

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