Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, father of a member of Elon University's Class of 2019, visited the Great Hall in Global Commons at 11 a.m. this morning to talk about his role as COO of Apple and give advice about career decisions to Elon students.
A quick introduction led into a Q&A session with students, who asked about different Apple products, career advice and his interactions in the company.
Williams spoke about his work developing the Apple Watch and how it led to working with professionals to enhance health benefits for the Apple community. He said there continues to be a huge opportunity to enhance work with health space in Apple.
Williams mentioned how one of his great moments in Apple was when he received a letter from an Apple Watch customer on how the watch tracked her heart rate and saved her life. When the watch constantly reminded the user of her high heart rate, she went to an urgent care clinic and was diagnosed with a harmful disease. Thanks to the Apple Watch tracking her heartbeat, she caught the disease early on and was able to make a full recovery.
He then gave advice to students to find their creativity and passion in order for a fulfilling career.
“I think you can all do this in your daily lives. Look for these glasses of excellence, and notice them,” Williams said.
When making career decisions, he told students to follow their gut and not wait for the perfect situation to start work in.
“You can pick a small company or a large company. Pick something, and move forward. Do it as if you own, learn what you can and move forward,” Williams said.
He remained humble about his success and advised that luck and hard work contributed strongly to his success. He said as he worked harder the luckier he got. He believed in the idea that being prepared meets with opportunities to showcase your skills in front of successful people.