Apple vs Procter & Gamble: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Apple and Procter & Gamble side by side

1. 1837Procter & Gamble

   Company Founded in Cincinnati

   William Procter and James Gamble sign a partnership agreement on October 31, 1837, establishing Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, with combined capital of approximately 7,192 dollars.

2. 1862Procter & Gamble

   Civil War Army Contracts Fuel Expansion

   P&G wins contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles, generating significant revenue that enables manufacturing expansion and introduces millions of American soldiers to P&G products for the first time.

3. 1882Procter & Gamble

   Ivory Soap Launches Nationally

   Harley Procter and James Norris Gamble introduce Ivory soap, promoted as 99 and 44/100 percent pure and notable for its floating characteristic.

4. 1890Procter & Gamble

   Company Incorporates and Expands Nationally

   Procter & Gamble incorporates in Ohio with capital of 4.5 million dollars and begins building manufacturing capacity outside Cincinnati, establishing the operational infrastructure for national distribution that the Ivory soap advertising campaign had created…

5. 1911Procter & Gamble

   Crisco Shortening Introduced

   P&G launches Crisco vegetable shortening, the first hydrogenated vegetable oil product marketed to American consumers as an alternative to lard and butter.

6. 1931Procter & Gamble

   Brand Management System Invented

   P&G executive Neil McElroy writes a famous internal memo proposing that each brand have its own dedicated management team responsible for competing against all rivals including other P&G brands.

7. 1946Procter & Gamble

   Tide Detergent Launches

   P&G introduces Tide synthetic detergent, which rapidly becomes the best-selling laundry product in the United States and establishes the template for all future P&G brand development: superior product performance, heavy consumer advertising, and sustained mark…

8. 1961Procter & Gamble

   Pampers Diapers Introduced

   P&G introduces Pampers disposable diapers, transforming the infant care category and creating what will become one of the company's most globally significant brands.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 2005Procter & Gamble

    Gillette Acquired for 57 Billion Dollars

    P&G completes the acquisition of Gillette Company for approximately 57 billion dollars in an all-stock transaction, adding Gillette razors, Braun appliances, Oral-B dental products, and Duracell batteries to the P&G portfolio.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 2014Procter & Gamble

    Portfolio Transformation Announced

    CEO A.G. Lafley announces P&G's plan to divest more than 100 brands and focus the company on approximately 80 core brands in ten product categories.

21. 2019Procter & Gamble

    Portfolio Simplification Completed

    P&G completes the brand portfolio simplification, having divested more than 100 brands and consolidated around approximately 65 core brands.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 2024Procter & Gamble

    Fiscal Year 2024 Net Sales Reach Approximately 84 Billion Dollars

    P&G reports fiscal year 2024 net sales of $84.0 billion and net earnings attributable to P&G of about $14.9 billion, and raises its quarterly dividend 7% to $1.0065 per share, its 68th consecutive annual increase.

25. 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

Questions about Apple vs Procter & Gamble