Apple’s Tim Cook is the CEO employees love most, Glassdoor says

When Tim Cook took over the helm at Apple Inc. in August, many wondered how he would set himself apart from his predecessor, the formidable Steve Jobs. But a new study that ranks Cook as the country’s top-rated chief executive suggests that he’s doing just fine.

Cook landed a 97% approval rating from employees, according to careers website Glassdoor -- the same rating Jobs had when he stepped down from the CEO post. In his short tenure, Cook has unveiled the new iPad and the iPhone 4S and has instituted a new quarterly dividend for shareholders.

Cook’s high score put him ahead of the 95% rating bestowed on Ernst & Young’s Jim Turley and Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs, as well as the 94% earned by American Express’ Ken Chenault and Google’s Larry Page.

Leaders of major banks also made the list, with an 88% rating for US Bank’s Richard Davis and an 87% for JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon. Even Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, who was recently publicly harangued by a former employee who accused him of running a company with a “toxic and destructive” culture, had a score of 89%.

GE’s Jeffrey Immelt, who heads President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, was the most improved among the top 25 CEOs, boosting his score from 64% last year to 83%.

And Cook isn’t the only newcomer holding his own. Meg Whitman, who took Hewlett-Packard’s top post in September, has an 80% approval rating -- higher than her predecessors’ cumulative scores of 57% (for Leo Apotheker) and 34% (for Mark Hurd).

The Glassdoor list also includes CEOs from Lockheed Martin, Starbucks and theU.S. Army.

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