Chris Espinosa, Apple’s longest-serving employee, began his journey with the tech giant at the age of 14. Hired by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs while still in school, Espinosa joined the company in 1977, making him an official employee when Apple was incorporated that same year by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He holds the distinguished title of being employee number 8.
Espinosa’s initial role at Apple involved testing the Apple II BASIC operating system during his Christmas holidays. His commitment to the company remained steadfast, even when Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985 to establish NeXT, an education-focused computer company. Espinosa continued to hold a senior position at Apple, retaining his role when Jobs returned to the company in 1997.
In interviews, Espinosa has reflected on Apple’s core principles and the driving forces behind its success. He emphasized three key marketing principles: “Empathy: know your customer, know what they want. Focus: do fewer things better. And impute: always carry value in everything you do. Those are things that we do today.”
Discussing Steve Jobs, Espinosa described him as a “maniacal genius” whose relentless pursuit of excellence kept the company on its toes. “His job is to stir up everything… He will not leave anything alone. He will not allow inadequacy or compromise to exist,” Espinosa noted.
Espinosa’s deep connection to Apple’s history was evident earlier this year when he identified a fake vintage Apple employee badge on eBay. He pointed out several inaccuracies, stating, “That wasn’t taken with a Polaroid with a flash. The laminate dimensions are all wrong. That’s a computer font, not an IBM Selectric Orator-type ball. That’s not my original sketch which was on a national engineering pad.”
Chris Espinosa’s enduring presence at Apple serves as a testament to his dedication and the foundational principles that have driven the company’s success over the decades.
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