Apple's Tim Cook comes out as gay and hopes acknowledgement will help others

Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly revealed he's gay and says he wants to help people struggling with their sexuality.

The declaration, in an essay written for , makes Cook the highest-profile business CEO to come out as gay.

Cook said that while he never denied his sexuality, he never publicly acknowledged it, either.

The executive said that for years he has been open with many people about his sexual orientation and that plenty of his Apple colleagues knew he was gay. Cook wrote in the column that it was not an easy choice to publicly disclose that he is gay, but that he felt the acknowledgement could help others.

The executive said he would continue to focus on being the best CEO he could be and would personally continue to advocate for equality for all people.

"I've come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important," he wrote.