After Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO on Wednesday, COO Tim Cook took over, effectively becoming the most power gay man in the country. Cook's ascension, if you will, should have a profound impact on the LGBT community, especially within the elite tech world. Ryan Tate of Gawker reports:

[I]t's clear Cook decision making authority will grow significantly—and that Apple is his show to run now. In the seven months since we profiled him, Cook's profile has only grown. Cook, who has not publicly discussed his sexuality, was named to the top of Out's list of powerful gays, yes, but he's also received greater recognition in the press for the incredible dividends Apple is reaping from its supply chain strategy, led by Cook, of using Apple's cash hoard to lock up crucial components for months or years, protecting products like the iPad from shortages, ensuring strong growth and margins for Apple and locking out would be rivals.

Today, Cook has graduated from a high profile tech executive serving as caretaker of the world's biggest tech company to the head of what, on some days, is now the biggest company in the world, period. He's also gone from being the most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley to the most powerful gay man in the world, bar none.

As far as personal quirks and stories, they're few and far between. His interests reportedly include fitness, Bob Dylan, energy bars, getting to work on time, silently eviscerating underlings with one look, Auburn Tigers football (he has a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University), and quite possibly Asian guys.

Other notable gays in the tech world are Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes, Microsoft HR chief Lisa Brummel and by Megan Smith, Google's vice president of new business development.