Apple CEO Tim Cook grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, which is just a few hours from New Orleans. In 2019, he came to New Orleans to give the commencement address at Tulane University. I created a transcript of his speech because nobody else made one, and I thought a transcript would make it easy for folks to quickly read what he had to say instead of taking the time to watch a video. (Back then, we could not use AI to do all the work of making transcripts.) In that commencement address, Cook quipped that for many people at Apple, New Orleans is “in our blood,” and he explained that he is part of that group too because when he attended college at Auburn, “the Big Easy was our favorite getaway” and a great place to enjoy a “weekend of beignets and beer.”
As I am sure you know, this past Sunday, New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl. Apple Music sponsored the halftime show, bringing Cook and other Apple executives back to New Orleans. I’m not sure if Cook was able to get beignets or beer while he was here, but he did have a busy weekend.
Cook and Deirdre O’Brien (Apple’s Senior VP for Retail + People) visited the Apple Store at the Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, LA, a suburb next to New Orleans. There are some fantastic Apple employees at that store, and I’m sure that they enjoyed the visit. O’Brien shared some pictures on Instagram, such as this one:
Cook also took the time to talk to some customers in the store. One of them, Michael Harold, shared pictures on Instagram and had this to say:
My computer screen went out on me earlier this week and I made an appointment at Apple to meet with a computer expert. The guy was great. Helpful. Nice. Like most of the staff there. I was lamenting the fact that everyone and his/her mother had been running it into celebrities and big wigs. Not I! And I’m certainly not going to meet some famous person in the mall. So the tech says to me “Well that has changed. Take a look.” Sure enough. Tim Cook himself. No bodyguard. No entourage. Just Tim and his colleagues. He is here for Super Bowl and took time to see [his] Apple employees. Everyone was highly impressed. He took pics with the staff and customers. Finally I had to go and take a look. His director of communications, Kristin, says to me. Tim is really genuine. (From Alabama by the way) “Would you like to meet him?” I’m thinking. Well. Yeah. But I don’t want to be too obnoxious. She said absolutely not. In seconds flat she goes up [him]. “Tim. I’d like you to meet Michael Harold.” So I get a photo with him and relate the fact that I had yet to see a big shot until now. He was so nice. “I can assure you I’m not a big shot.” He says. I go back to my computer and work on the issues. As Tim leaves I say goodbye to him and no lie. He says “Goodbye Michael.” He’s right. He’s not a big shot. He’s just a regular guy. A successful and extraordinarily kind regular guy.
Cook also met up with Odell Beckham, Jr. Before he played NFL football, Beckham attended my alma mater, Isidore Newman. (He was in the class of 2011.) Ever since I was a Newman student in the 1980s, the best place near campus to get a po-boy has been at Domilise’s, so it was no surprise to see that OBJ took Cook there. Others at the table included Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior VP of Services who is in charge of Apple Music, and Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiative who was previously Administrator of the EPA. Lisa Jackson is from New Orleans; in 1979, she graduated from and was the valedictorian of Dominican High School, another school close to Domilise’s. Jorge Alonso shared a video on TikTok showing them enjoying what looks like shrimp po-boys, which is also my go-to order at Domilise’s.
New Orleans native Harry Connick, Jr. posted on Instagram that he, Cook, and Jackson visited the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music (EMCM), a center in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans that uses music for children as its focal point to battle poverty and social injustice. Apple recently posted an article on its website about Apple’s partnership with EMCM. That article also mentions Apple’s partnership with the Young Artist Movement (YAM), a part of Arts New Orleans that works with teenagers and young adults. YAM artists recently used iPads to design a mural they painted outside the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office jail. It is a 6,600-square-foot art piece that is visible as you drive towards downtown New Orleans on I-10.
Cook, Eddy Cue, Oliver Schusser (Apple’s VP of Apple Music and Beats), and others were also seen on a balcony at a prime location in the French Quarter: the corner of Bourbon Street and Bienville Street at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, as shown in a TikTok video posted by DJ John Summit.
After his trip to New Orleans, Cook posted a video on Twitter/X about his trip to New Orleans. The video shows Cook at Domilise’s, the Super Bowl parade, Cook at EMCM, the YAM mural, Cook spending time with Saints legend and ALS advocate Steve Gleason, and more: