Cook lets his hair down at Goldman

On Feb. 14, 2012, Cook made a rare appearance for an interview at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco. Although he discussed everything from worker safety to what the company plans to do with its growing pile of cash and liquid assets, Cook drew particular scrutiny for his comments about China.

In the aftermath of growing criticism of employee conditions at Chinese factories making Apple products, Cook only one day earlier requested an immediate inspection of facilities at Foxconn in China.

"No one in our industry is doing more to improve working conditions than Apple," Cook said, adding that he had personally spent "a lot of time" in factories, including a stint at a paper mill in Alabama as well as in an aluminum plant in Virginia.