3M vs Apple: Founders, CEOs and History
3M was founded in 1902 by J. Danley Budd, John Dwan, Henry S. Bryan and is led by William M. "Bill" Brown. Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and is led by John Ternus.
Company facts
Founders
3M
J. Danley Budd
Budd was the doctor among 3M's five founders. The others were attorney John Dwan, meat market owner Hermon W. Cable, and railroad men Henry S. Bryan and William A. McGonagle.
John Dwan
John Dwan was one of the five original founders of 3M, contributing his legal expertise and local Minnesota business connections to the venture's organization in 1902.
Henry S. Bryan
Bryan was one of the two railroad men in the founding group, alongside William A. McGonagle, and joined physician J. Danley Budd, attorney John Dwan and meat market owner Hermon W.
Hermon W. Cable
Cable was the merchant of the founding group, which also included physician J. Danley Budd, attorney John Dwan and railroad men Henry S. Bryan and William A. McGonagle.
William A. McGonagle
McGonagle and Henry S. Bryan were the railroad men of the founding group; the others were physician J. Danley Budd, attorney John Dwan and meat market owner Hermon W. Cable.
Apple
Steve Jobs
Apple Computer was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, who sold his 10% stake back to his partners for $800 twelve days later.
Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple and supplied the engineering foundation for its early success. He designed the Apple I as a working personal-computer board and then created the Apple II, the product that transformed Apple into a real company.
Ronald Wayne
Ronald Wayne co-founded Apple in 1976 but exited the partnership after only days, selling his stake back to Jobs and Wozniak.
CEOs and their tenures
3M
- William McKnight1914–1966
General Manager, President, and Chairman
William Lester McKnight is more responsible than any founder for creating the organizational philosophy and cultural infrastructure that made 3M's sustained innovation record possible across the twentieth century.
Source - Lew Lehr1980–1986
Chief Executive Officer
Lew Lehr led 3M during one of its most commercially successful periods, overseeing the national launch of Post-it Notes in 1980 and managing the company's expansion into international markets during a period of strong global economic growth.
Source - James McNerney2001–2005
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
W. James McNerney Jr. was the first CEO hired from outside 3M, arriving from General Electric in 2001. He introduced GE-style Six Sigma process discipline and cost controls across 3M before leaving in mid-2005 to become chairman and CEO of Boeing.
Source - George Buckley2005–2012
Chief Executive Officer
George Buckley, who joined 3M from Brunswick Corporation in 2005, is credited with reinvesting in 3M's research and development capabilities after a period under his predecessor James McNerney when cost-cutting had reduced R&D spending and raised questions abo…
Source - Inge G. Thulin2012–2018
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Swedish-born Inge G. Thulin, a 3M veteran who had built its international business and served as chief operating officer, became president and CEO on February 24, 2012, succeeding George Buckley.
Source - Michael F. Roman2018–2024
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Michael F. Roman, previously 3M's chief operating officer, succeeded Inge Thulin as CEO on July 1, 2018.
Source - William M. Brown2024–present
Chief Executive Officer
William M. "Bill" Brown became 3M's CEO on May 1, 2024, weeks after the April 1 spin-off of Solventum, succeeding Michael Roman.
Source
Apple
- John Sculley1983–1993
CEO
Sculley, a Wharton MBA who had built his reputation running Pepsi's marketing organization, was recruited to Apple in 1983 after Steve Jobs asked him, 'Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world?' Apple paid h…
Source - Gil Amelio1996–1997
CEO
Amelio built his reputation as a corporate turnaround specialist at Rockwell International and then as CEO of National Semiconductor, where he was credited with transforming it from a struggling third-tier chipmaker into a more respected competitor, before joi…
Source - Steve Jobs1997–2011
CEO
Jobs enrolled at Reed College but dropped out after six months, later working as a video-game designer at Atari before he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in the Jobs family garage in 1976, funding the venture by selling Jobs's Volkswagen van and Wozni…
Source - Tim Cook2011–2026
CEO
Cook earned an industrial-engineering degree from Auburn University and an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business, then spent 12 years at IBM's personal-computer business before serving as COO of the reseller division at Intelligent Electronics and briefly a…
Source - John Ternus2026–present
CEO
Before becoming CEO, Ternus was Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, the group responsible for the engineering of Apple's devices. Cook described his contributions to Apple as spanning 25 years when the succession was announced.
Source
Timeline: 3M and Apple side by side
19023M
Company Founded in Two Harbors, Minnesota
Five Minnesota businessmen incorporate the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company with the intention of mining corundum abrasive mineral from a deposit on the Lake Superior shore.
19103M
Relocation to Saint Paul and First Laboratory
3M relocates its operations to Saint Paul, Minnesota, establishing the geographic base that it would maintain for the remainder of the twentieth century.
19213M
Wetordry Waterproof Sandpaper Introduced
Researcher Francis Okie develops Wetordry waterproof sandpaper, the first 3M product to achieve significant commercial success by offering genuine technical differentiation from competing products.
19253M
Masking Tape Invented by Richard Drew
Richard Drew, a 3M laboratory researcher who observed automotive painters struggling with imprecise color boundary masking, develops a pressure-sensitive masking tape that allows clean paint line definition without surface damage upon removal.
19303M
Scotch Transparent Tape Commercialized
Richard Drew extends his adhesive tape work to create a transparent, pressure-sensitive tape initially called Scotch tape.
19623M
Headquarters Moves to 3M Center in Maplewood
After 52 years in St. Paul, 3M outgrew its campus and moved its headquarters to 3M Center in Maplewood, Minnesota, where it remains.
19763M
3M Added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average
3M is added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, reflecting its status as one of the defining companies of American industrial manufacturing.
1976Apple
Apple is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, turning an early personal-computer board into a company with a product and a market.
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple in 1976, when personal computing was still a hobbyist market.
1977Apple
The Apple II launches and gives the young company an expandable personal computer for schools, homes, and small businesses.
The Apple II turned a garage project into a business. Color graphics, expansion slots and a consumer-friendly design carried it into schools, homes and small offices, giving Apple a revenue base years before the Macintosh.
19803M
Post-it Note Launched Nationally
After a limited test market launch in 1977 and a national rollout beginning in 1980, Post-it Notes become one of the most successful new product launches in 3M history.
1980Apple
Apple completes its initial public offering in December 1980, raising capital and turning personal computing into a public-market story.
The December 1980 IPO gave Apple public-market capital and made personal computing look like a serious commercial category. It also raised the pressure to professionalize management, distribution and product planning as the company outgrew its founding team.
1984Apple
The Macintosh introduces a graphical interface and mouse-driven computing to a broad audience at a $2,495 launch price.
The Macintosh brought a graphical interface and a mouse to a mass-market computer and defined Apple's design identity.
19963M
Imation Spin-off
3M spun off its data storage and imaging businesses as Imation Corporation, shedding about 20% of its sales in product lines such as removable storage media and photographic film.
1997Apple
Apple completes the NeXT acquisition, bringing Steve Jobs back and supplying the operating-system foundation for the years that followed.
Apple's NeXT acquisition brought Steve Jobs back when the company was financially weak and unfocused.
2001Apple
Apple introduces the iPod on October 23, 2001, a 5GB music player priced at $399 that held about 1,000 songs.
The iPod put a hard-drive music library in a pocket at $399 and went on sale on November 10, 2001.
20023M
Legal Name Changed to 3M Company
On April 8, 2002, 3M's centennial year, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company changed its legal name to 3M Company, adopting the abbreviation it had long used as its brand.
2007Apple
The iPhone is introduced as a phone, widescreen iPod, and internet communicator, moving Apple into the center of mobile computing.
The iPhone moved Apple into mobile computing and shifted the company's center of gravity away from the Mac. It also created the hardware base that later supported services, accessories and developer economics.
2008Apple
The App Store opens with 500 apps, creating a controlled software marketplace that becomes a major Services pillar.
The App Store launched with 500 apps and gave iPhone owners a single, controlled way to install third-party software.
2011Apple
Tim Cook becomes chief executive on August 24, 2011, after Steve Jobs resigns and the board names Cook to succeed him.
Apple's board named Tim Cook chief executive on August 24, 2011, when Steve Jobs resigned and recommended the succession plan be carried out.
2014Apple
Apple agrees to acquire Beats Music and Beats Electronics for $3 billion, its largest deal.
Apple agreed to buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics for a total of $3 billion, about $2.6 billion in purchase price plus roughly $400 million vesting over time, and brought in founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.
20203M
Record N95 Respirator Production During COVID-19
3M expands N95 respirator production capacity at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately producing more than 2.5 billion respirators between January 2020 and year-end 2021.
2020Apple
Apple announces the Mac transition to Apple silicon, deepening control over performance, power efficiency, and software optimization.
Apple began moving Mac computers off Intel processors and onto its own M-series chips in 2020.
20233M
Landmark PFAS and Combat Arms Settlements Announced
3M announces separate landmark settlements addressing its two largest litigation liabilities: a $10.3 billion settlement with municipalities across the United States over PFAS water contamination, to be paid over thirteen years, and a $6.01 billion settlement…
20243M
Solventum Healthcare Spinoff Completed
3M completes the spinoff of its healthcare business segment into a separately listed public company named Solventum Corporation in April 2024.
20243M
William Brown Appointed CEO
William M. Brown, former chair and CEO of L3Harris Technologies, becomes 3M's Chief Executive Officer on May 1, 2024, succeeding Mike Roman, who became executive chairman.
2024Apple
Vision Pro launches at $3,499 and gives Apple a shipping platform for spatial interfaces, sensors, and custom silicon.
Vision Pro gave Apple a live platform for spatial interfaces, eye and hand input, high-resolution displays and custom chips.
2026Apple
John Ternus becomes chief executive on September 1, 2026, and Tim Cook becomes executive chairman.
John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, became chief executive on September 1, 2026, and Tim Cook became executive chairman after 15 years as CEO.
Acquisitions
3M
- M*Modal (technology business)2019$1B
- Acelity (KCI)2019$6.7B
- Scott Safety2017$2B
- Capital Safety Group2015$2.5B
- Cogent Systems2010$943M
- Aearo Technologies2008$1.2B
Questions about 3M vs Apple
Who is the CEO of 3M Company and Apple Inc.?
3M Company is led by William M. "Bill" Brown and Apple Inc. is led by John Ternus. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was 3M Company founded vs Apple Inc.?
3M Company was founded in 1902 — 74 years before Apple Inc., which was founded in 1976. 3M Company's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Apple Inc..
How many employees does 3M Company have compared to Apple Inc.?
3M Company employs approximately 60,500 people, while Apple Inc. employs approximately 166,000. Apple Inc. has the larger workforce at 166,000 employees, compared to 3M Company's 60,500. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are 3M Company and Apple Inc. headquartered?
Both 3M Company and Apple Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded 3M Company and Apple Inc.?
3M Company was founded by J. Danley Budd, John Dwan, Henry S. Bryan, Hermon W. Cable, William A. McGonagle. Apple Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne.
Which company has a longer operating history — 3M Company or Apple Inc.?
3M Company has been operating for approximately 124 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Apple Inc. has been in operation for around 50 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the 3M vs Apple overview