Does Apple Inc. (AAPL) Want to See Better Performance out of CEO Tim Cook?

As the CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), it is safe to say that Tim Cook has a lot of pressure to perform. He is wearing many hats for the biggest tech company in the world. Not to mention the fact that Cupertino has run into some difficulties as of late, as the company has given away some market share to the competition while also dealing with a dropping stock price.

With all this in mind, many people are beginning to look for more from Cook. They are beginning to consider whether or not he is the right man for the job.

Now, it appears that the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Board of Directors is having some thoughts of its own.

According to a recent report by Mac Rumors, touching on a company filing with the SEC, the board “has elected to modify the award of restricted stock that Tim Cook received after being promoted to CEO in August 2011.”

It does not appear that Cook is the only one subjected to this change. Instead, future stock awards for all company executives will be performance based. Cook is taking the lead on this one. Even more so, get this:

“Though normal performance-based compensation normally has both an upside and downside, at his request, Cook’s award will solely have a downside component.”

This goes a long way in showing that the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO is not shying away from the challenge. In fact, he is embracing anything that comes his way.

Here is an important component of the SEC filing:

“Under the adopted modification, Mr. Cook will forfeit a portion of the 2011 CEO equity award, which was previously entirely time-based, if the Company does not achieve certain performance criteria. While the Committee generally believes that a performance-based award should have both a downside and an upside component, at Mr. Cook’s request, the modification does not contain an upside opportunity for overachievement of these criteria. As a result of implementing a modification with only downside risk, the Committee has determined that a portion of the original grant should vest earlier than originally scheduled. This modification will not change the award’s original value for accounting expense purposes.”

This is a big change for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook as well as other executives within the company.

What is your opinion on this change? Did you take the time to read through the SEC filing? Share your thoughts on what this means to Cook’s future in the comment section below.