TIM Cook, the American chief executive of Apple Inc, is in Scotland today to receive an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow. Following the degree ceremony there will be a “Fireside Chat” and Q&A session at which staff and students will hope to gain insight into his success.

SO WHY THE AWARD?

AS chief executive of Apple, he has led the introduction of innovative new products and services including iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Pro and Apple Watch.

Apple has ranked No 1 on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for the past nine years, including each year Cook has been chief executive, a job he gained in 2011.

The 56-year-old is something of an all-round good guy, not only heading up the world’s leading information technology company but leading a company-wide effort to use 100 per cent renewable energy at all Apple facilities, encouraging his co-workers to give to charitable organisations in their community and starting a generous programme at Apple to match employee donations.

In 2015, he ranked No 1 on Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders list, and received both the Ripple of Hope award from the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights and the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign.

BUT HE OWES IT ALL TO STEVE JOBS, RIGHT?

YES and no. Cook was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1960 and studied industrial engineer and business administration at university. He joined IBM, then the world’s largest computer company, in 1982 and rose through the ranks to head up a major division before joining Intelligent Electronics as chief operating officer. He spent six months at Compaq before Steve Jobs recruited him for Apple in 1998.

By coincidence it was 20 years ago this week that Jobs returned to Apple, from which he had been ousted in 1985. Cook said he had aimed to stay at Compaq and was strongly advised to do so, but changed his mind five minutes after meeting Jobs.

He became senior vice-president for Apple’s worldwide operations and set about gutting a business that had fallen spectacularly and at one point faced bankruptcy. With Jobs’s genius for entrepreneurship allied to Cook’s business nous, and the design skills of Sir Timothy Ive and his team, Apple began its rise to global dominance.

WHAT HAS HE DONE FOR APPLE?

HE was the dealmaker for the long-term contracts that led to the iPod, iPhone and iPad seeing the light of day, and then took charge of all the “Mac” products. In 2007 he was made chief operating officer of Apple, and was given the chief executive’s job temporarily when Jobs was ill, and then permanently when Jobs stepped aside to become chairman in 2011. Jobs died a few months later.

Since he became the boss, Cook has transformed Apple’s internal culture and seen the company become an even greater force.

ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HIM?A

HE is a private person, and doesn’t feature in either of the two major films made about Jobs since his death. It takes clout to do that.

A fitness fanatic who regularly works 12-14 hour a day, he was the first chief executive of a top 500 American company to come out as gay. He also famously stood up to the US Government and the FBI over the latter’s demand for Apple to help “unlock” an iPhone used by the killers in the San Bernardino massacre in December, 2015. A judge ordered the company to create a way of unlocking iPhone software, which Cook denounced as a breach of privacy.

Thanks to his shares in Apple, which has the world’s largest market capitalisation at $610 billion, he is reckoned to be worth between $600 and $700 million, and maybe more. He has said he will give all his wealth to charity.

WHAT DOES HE THINK OF DONALD TRUMP?

THAT is a question he is bound to face today. So though he is on speaking terms with the new president, Cook let it be known that Apple opposes The Donald’s immigration policies.

He sent an email to staff saying “there are employees at Apple who are directly affected by yesterday’s immigration order. Our HR, legal and security teams are in contact with them, and Apple will do everything we can to support them.”

For good measure he added: “As I’ve said many times, diversity makes our team stronger. And if there’s one thing I know about the people at Apple, it’s the depth of our empathy and support for one another. It’s as important now as it’s ever been, and it will not weaken one bit.

“Apple is open. Open to everyone, no matter where they come from, which language they speak, who they love or how they worship. Our employees represent the finest talent in the world, and our team hails from every corner of the globe.

“In the words of Dr Martin Luther King: ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now’.”

For good measure he reminded Apple staff that Steve Jobs, though adopted by an American couple, was the biological son of an immigrant from Syria.

He added: “Apple would not exist without immigration.”