Apple names Tim Cook chief operating officer

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer, maker of the iPod digital music player and Macintosh computer, on Friday named Tim Cook as chief operating officer and said iPod division head Jon Rubinstein would retire.

Cook, who was head of worldwide sales and operations since 2002, had been effectively doing the job of COO for two years, the company said.

"It's high time we officially recognised it with this promotion," chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Cook took the helm of Cupertino, California-based Apple briefly last summer while Jobs recuperated from surgery after being diagnosed with a rare and highly treatable form of pancreatic cancer.

Apple also said Rubinstein would retire on 31 March, and Tony Fadell would succeed him. Both Fadell and Cook will report to Jobs.

Fadell joined Apple's iPod engineering team in 2001 and promoted to head of engineering for the iPod group in 2004.

Before joining Apple, Cook was vice president of procurement at Compaq Computer, then the leader of the personal computer market, which was subsequently acquired by Hewlett-Packard. He also worked for Intelligent Electronics and International Business Machines Corp.