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With Steve Jobs' resignation as Apple's CEO on Wednesday, Apple's Board of Directors has immediately named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company's new chief.

Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO

In a letter published on August 24 in which Jobs announced his resignation, he strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook, who has worked 13 years at the company, as CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board.

Cook has been running day-to-day operations at the company since January when Jobs took a third medical leave from the company after combating a rare form of cancer since 2003 and surviving a liver transplant in 2009. 

Under Jobs who co-founded the company in the late 1970s, Apple became the second-most valuable company in the world – after Exxon Mobil Corp. – despite nearly going bankrupt in early 1990s after Jobs was ousted in 1985.

The news of Job's resignation and Cook's appointment on Wednesday has been widely reported by technology and media sites as well as gay ones.

News blog Gawker on Wednesday screamed "Tim Cook: Apple's New CEO and the Most Powerful Gay Man in America" noting that: "He's also gone from being the most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley to the most powerful gay man in the world, bar none."

Although the 50-year-old engineer has notably not publicly spoken about his sexual orientation, he was ranked number one in Out magazine’s Power 50 index in May beating US talk show host Ellen Degeneres and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

In a press release, the magazine's editor-in-chief, Aaron Hicklin, noted that "it's the first year that the list has been topped by someone from the tech world, in the shape of Apple's COO, Tim Cook, who has helped turn his company into one of the world's most influential." He added: "Here’s a suggestion for how Apple could more constructively challenge the appeal of groups like Exodus: They should send their COO out to schools and universities as an example of a successful gay man running the world’s biggest tech company. Although Tim Cook has chosen to be discreet about his sexuality, just know that Apple’s heir apparent is gay sends a compelling message of the opportunity to thrive in the workplace. That’s a big deal."