Tim Cook to Receive Award at Industrial and Systems Engineering Conference May 22-25

The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) welcomes Apple CEO Tim Cook to its virtual Annual Conference & Expo to receive the Captains of Industry Award. The award is the Institute’s highest honor that is bestowed solely on business, industry and government leaders.

Cook has ties with the Institute that go back to his student days and holds a degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University where he was a student member of IISE (then IIE – Institute of Industrial Engineers) at the time.

“On behalf of our leaders and members within the Institute and the profession, IISE is thrilled to recognize such a world-renowned business leader at this year’s Annual Conference,” said Don Greene, IISE CEO and Fellow. “Tim Cook is at the helm of a company whose products have helped to change so many lives around the world. He is an inspiration to industrial engineers everywhere, demonstrating the awesome power that our field has to make the world a better place.”

Greene added that in addition to receiving IISE’s prestigious award during the conference, Cook will engage in a Question and Answer session at a Captains of Industry Forum from 3 to 3:40 p.m. ET on May 24 with IISE’s Auburn Student Chapter President Annie Dorsey.

“We are honored to have a leader like Tim join us to share his unique insights and perspectives with the industrial and systems engineering community,” added Greene. “For attendees at the beginning of their career journey or well along its course, this discussion will undoubtedly provide valuable insights on his life of leadership in the field, in business and in living his values.”

Cook was nominated for the award by author and IISE Fellow Alice E. Smith, the Joe W. Forehand/Accenture Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Joint Appointment Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University.

“It’s an honor to receive this award from IISE, and I’m looking forward to joining many leaders, visionaries and friends at this year’s virtual conference,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “My Auburn degree in industrial engineering helped to prepare me for everything my career had in store for me, and it is especially meaningful to be nominated by Auburn Professor Alice Smith.”

More than 700-plus sessions are planned at IISE’s virtual Annual Conference & Expo May 22-25, including dozens of COVID-era solutions, ample networking opportunities, and an honors and awards reception. The event features keynote speakers Walt Ehmer, president and CEO of Waffle House Inc., Nadine Sarter, professor of cognitive ergonomics and organizational safety at the University of Michigan, and Andres Medaglia, professor of industrial engineering at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and director of the research center Centro para la Optimización y Probabilidad Aplicada (COPA), or Center for Applied Optimization and Probability. See the schedule and register by May 3 for early bird savings at www.iise.org/Annual.

About IISE: The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers is the world’s largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IISE is an international, nonprofit association that provides knowledge, training, networking opportunities and recognition to enhance the skills and effectiveness of its members, customers and the profession. Visit www.iise.org for more information.