I’m proud to be gay, says Apple CEO Tim Cook

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook came out as gay today (Oct 30) in an op-ed piece for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Up till today, Mr Cook had never publicly acknowledged his sexual orientation, although he said many people had known “for years”.

“Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me,” he wrote.

Mr Cook added that while he has never denied his sexuality, “I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either”. “So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”

Mr Richard Metheny, of executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, told the Associated Press that Mr Cook's announcement was a "huge deal".
 
"This really sets the stage for `it's okay,'" he said. "Anything CEOs do is very magnified, very complicated, and it affects a lot of people... There's no taking away that he has become a role model and will have a positive influence on lots of people that would like to be comfortable being out in the world of business.''

Mr Cook said he was inspired to come out by a quote from Dr Martin Luther King: “I believe deeply in the words of Dr Martin Luther King, who said: ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important.”

The Apple chief executive’s editorial comes just days after he challenged his home state of Alabama to better ensure the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Mr Cook also wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal last year urging Congress to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act.

Sources: Bloomberg Businessweek, AP