Key Takeaways from Eddy Cue’s CNN en Español Interview

Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, gave CNN en Español a rare and in-depth look at his life, career, and philosophy in an interview that was entirely in Spanish. Cue has a unique point of view because of his background. He is in charge of important services like Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and the quickly growing Apple TV app. Cue’s father was born in Cuba, but his family is of Spanish origin and he was born in Miami. Cue was proud of the chances he had and thanked his parents for leaving Cuba and the United States for helping him succeed in his nearly 36-year career at Apple.

Cue runs departments that are important to Apple’s current business model, but he tries to stay out of the spotlight and says that his accomplishments are not unique. He says that the “incredible” people he works with are the reason for his success, and he stresses that “it’s not me, it’s my whole group.” This philosophy guides his advice to students today: no matter what they study, whether it’s computer science or economics, they need to find something that really excites them. Cue says that if someone loves their job, it stops feeling like work, which gives them the best chance to grow. He also repeated a well-known saying from Steve Jobs: you can only see how your career path has led you by looking back, not forward.

A lot of the talk was about Apple’s big and now very successful move into original content with Apple TV+. Years ago, Cue became interested in movies and TV shows while working with Steve Jobs, who was the CEO of both Apple and Pixar. When Apple decided to launch its own streaming platform six or seven years ago, they made the difficult decision to focus only on creating very few, but the absolute best, original programs, rather than relying on renting or buying content like competitors. This aggressive plan meant that they had to find the best directors, actors, and writers from around the world. This plan has led to critical acclaim, historic Emmy nominations, and partnerships with big names in the film industry like Martin Scorsese.

But one important thing to remember about Apple’s overall strategy is that they have made the strict decision to only make original content. At first, people who worked in the industry thought it was impossible to start a successful platform without buying existing programs. Cue said that Apple’s decision to start over came from a commitment to “brand integrity.” They thought that the Apple brand stood for something important and didn’t want to put the Apple mark on any content that wasn’t made and owned by them. Their focus on brand focus made them start over with the content strategy. Cue is still very hopeful about the future. He says that while technology and AI will help people work faster and better, machines will never be able to copy the unique creativity that people have, like that of an actor like Brad Pitt.

Watch the full interview below: