When Steve Jobs passed away in October 2011, Apple fans across the world grieved for him in a way that was unprecedented for a business executive. But then again, Steve Jobs was no ordinary business executive. As Harry McCracken of TIME wrote following Jobs’ death, “with astonishing regularity, Jobs did something that few people accomplish even once: he reinvented entire industries.” And the industries he reinvented happened to be those that regular human beings interacted with everyday and on an deeply personal level. Apple products aren’t just tools, they’re the medium through which we increasingly experience friendship, work, and life in general. In the year and a half since Jobs’ passing, successor Tim Cook has yet to recreate the sort of magic Steve Jobs was regularly able to conjure.
Big Shoes to Fill: 14 Who Followed in the Footsteps of Legendary Leaders
This week’s news that legendary Manchester United football manager Alex Ferguson would be retiring later this month -- and passing his job to David Moyes -- got us here at TIME thinking about how certain roles can be very tough to fill indeed. Whether you’re an athlete, politician, business leader, or entertainer, stepping into a role once filled by a legend can be a daunting task, regardless of your credentials. In that spirit, we present 14 of the most influential figures in recent memory, and the unlucky souls who had to try to fill their shoes.
Tim Cook / Steve Jobs
Full List
Replacing Legends
- How Do You Take Over for a Legend?
- Tim Cook / Steve Jobs
- Joe Girardi / Joe Torre
- Coco Chanel / Karl Lagerfeld
- Bob Paisley / Bill Shankly
- Sammy Hagar / David Lee Roth
- Gene Bartow / John Wooden
- Jay Leno / Johnny Carson
- Tim Floyd / Phil Jackson
- Lyndon B. Johnson / John F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Drew Carey / Bob Barker
- Ben Bernanke / Alan Greenspan
- George Seifert / Bill Walsh
- Jennifer Lopez / Simon Cowell
- Pope Benedict XVI / Pope John Paul II