Wendell Weeks

Wendell Weeks
Born	Wendell P. Weeks 1959/1960
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Chairman, CEO, and President, Corning Inc.
Known for	Leading Corning Inc., development of Gorilla Glass
Education	Lehigh University (BS) Harvard University (MBA)
Spouse(s)	Kim Frock
Children	2
Website	[https://www.corning.com/emea/en/about-us/company-profile/our-leadership/wendell-p--weeks.html Official site]

Wendell P. Weeks (born 1959 or 1960) is an American business executive who serves as chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Corning Incorporated, the multinational materials science and technology company headquartered in Corning, New York. Weeks has led the company since 2005, guiding it through a period of significant transformation that saw Corning evolve from a firm rebuilding after the dot-com telecommunications bust into a major supplier of specialty glass and optical fiber for consumer electronics and artificial intelligence infrastructure. His tenure has been defined by consequential partnerships with some of the world's largest technology companies, including Apple and Meta, and by Corning's development of products such as Gorilla Glass, the ultra-thin, damage-resistant glass used on billions of smartphones and other devices worldwide. Under his leadership, the 175-year-old company based in a small town in upstate New York has remained at the center of major technology industry shifts, from the smartphone revolution to the current build-out of AI data centers. Weeks is a graduate of Lehigh University and Harvard Business School and has spent his entire career at Corning.

Early Life

Wendell P. Weeks was born in 1959 or 1960. Details about his early childhood and family background are not extensively documented in public sources. Weeks grew up and eventually settled in the region surrounding Corning, New York, a small community in the Southern Tier of upstate New York that has been inextricably linked to Corning Incorporated and its predecessor companies for more than a century and a half. His long association with the area and the company has made him a prominent figure in the local community, and he has been characterized in the press as a "small-town boss" who has maintained Corning's headquarters and significant operations in its namesake town even as the company has grown into a global enterprise.

Education

Weeks earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He later attended Harvard Business School, where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree. His educational background in both engineering and business would prove instrumental in his career at Corning, a company whose competitive advantage has long rested on the intersection of materials science innovation and commercial strategy.

Career

Early Career at Corning

Weeks joined Corning Incorporated and built his career within the company over the course of several decades, rising through various positions in the organization. His long tenure within a single company is notable in an era when executive careers frequently span multiple firms. Before ascending to the top leadership position, Weeks held a series of increasingly senior roles that gave him broad exposure to Corning's diverse business segments, including telecommunications, specialty materials, and display technologies.

CEO of Corning

Weeks became chief executive officer of Corning Incorporated in 2005, taking the helm of a company that was still recovering from the severe downturn in the telecommunications industry following the burst of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s. The collapse of the fiber-optic market had dealt a significant blow to Corning, which had invested heavily in optical fiber and related products during the late 1990s telecom boom. Weeks faced the challenge of stabilizing the company and repositioning it for long-term growth.

In April 2007, Weeks assumed the additional title of chairman of the board of directors, consolidating his leadership of the company. He has continued to serve in the combined role of chairman, CEO, and president for nearly two decades, making him one of the longer-tenured chief executives among major American corporations.

Under Weeks's leadership, Corning pursued a strategy centered on what the company has described as its core competencies in materials science, particularly in glass, ceramics, and optical physics. This approach led to the development and commercialization of several products that became central to major technology industry trends.

Gorilla Glass and the Apple Partnership

One of the most consequential developments of Weeks's tenure was Corning's creation of Gorilla Glass, the chemically strengthened, thin, and damage-resistant glass that became the standard cover material for smartphones, tablets, and other consumer electronic devices. The origin of Gorilla Glass is closely linked to Corning's relationship with Apple Inc. and, in particular, to an interaction between Weeks and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

According to Weeks's own account, which he has recounted publicly on multiple occasions, Jobs contacted him in 2006 or 2007 seeking a glass strong enough and thin enough to serve as the cover for the original iPhone. At the time, Corning had developed a type of chemically strengthened glass decades earlier — a product known as "Project Muscle" from the 1960s — but had never found a commercial market for it and had ceased production. Jobs insisted that Corning could manufacture the glass in the quantities and timeframe Apple required. When Weeks expressed doubt about Corning's ability to deliver, Jobs reportedly told him: "Don't be afraid. You can do this." According to Weeks, Jobs said that if Corning could not help Apple deliver on "the biggest product in history," he would "eviscerate" the relationship.

Weeks committed Corning to the project, and the company successfully developed and manufactured what became known as Gorilla Glass for the first iPhone, which launched in 2007. The product went on to become one of Corning's most commercially significant innovations, used by Apple and numerous other smartphone and device manufacturers. The partnership with Apple has continued and deepened over subsequent years, with multiple generations of Gorilla Glass developed for successive product lines.

In September 2025, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Weeks appeared together in an interview on CNBC's Mad Money with host Jim Cramer, discussing the ongoing partnership between the two companies on glass for devices and Corning's role in Apple's supply chain.

Lessons from Jeff Bezos and Innovation Strategy

In addition to his well-known relationship with Steve Jobs, Weeks has spoken publicly about the influence of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on his approach to innovation and leadership. In an October 2025 interview with Fortune, Weeks described how Bezos had taught him that creating value is "less about overcoming failure" and more about the principle that "if something is working, double down on it." This philosophy has been reflected in Corning's strategy under Weeks of concentrating investment in areas where the company has demonstrated technical and market leadership, rather than diversifying broadly into unrelated fields.

Optical Fiber and AI Infrastructure

Beyond consumer electronics glass, Weeks has overseen Corning's continued prominence in the optical fiber and cable market, a business segment that has experienced a resurgence driven by demand for high-speed data transmission infrastructure. As the build-out of artificial intelligence data centers has accelerated in the mid-2020s, Corning has positioned itself as a critical supplier of the fiber-optic cabling needed to connect servers and data center facilities.

In January 2026, Meta Platforms (the parent company of Facebook) reached a deal with Corning valued at up to $6 billion for the supply of fiber-optic cables to be used in Meta's AI data centers. The agreement represented one of the largest single contracts in Corning's history and underscored the company's central role in AI infrastructure under Weeks's leadership. CNBC characterized Corning, a "175-year-old glassmaker known for supplying iPhone glass," as being "now at the center of the AI infrastructure boom."

Weeks discussed the Meta partnership and Corning's growth outlook during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box in early 2026, where he addressed the company's quarterly earnings results and the significance of the deal for Corning's future.

Display Technologies

Corning's display technologies segment, which produces glass substrates for liquid crystal displays (LCD) and other flat panel displays, has been another significant part of the company's portfolio during Weeks's tenure. The company has been a major supplier to television and monitor manufacturers worldwide. In 2009, Corning was reported to be involved in developments related to display technology markets in Asia.

Community and Employee Relations

Weeks has maintained Corning's headquarters and a significant portion of its operations in the small city of Corning, New York, a decision that has had substantial implications for the local community and economy. In June 2025, Weeks spoke at Corning's annual Service Awards event, discussing the company's outlook and honoring longtime employees. The Economist profiled Weeks in June 2025, noting his status as a "small-town boss at the big-tech table" and highlighting the contrast between Corning's rural headquarters and its role as a supplier to some of the world's largest technology companies.

Personal Life

Weeks is married to Kim Frock, and the couple has two children. The family resides in the Corning, New York area, consistent with Weeks's long career at the company headquartered there.

Political and Business Affiliations

In 2016, Weeks was among a group of business leaders who endorsed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Weeks is a member of the Business Council, an organization composed of chief executives of major American and international corporations. He has also been associated with the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies that engages in public policy advocacy.

Executive Compensation

Weeks's compensation as CEO of Corning has been documented in public filings and reports. A 2024 report by the Institute for Policy Studies examined executive compensation at major American corporations and included data on Weeks's pay.

Legacy

Weeks's two-decade tenure as CEO of Corning Incorporated has coincided with and contributed to several major shifts in the technology industry. The development and commercialization of Gorilla Glass under his leadership provided a critical enabling material for the smartphone revolution that began with the launch of the iPhone in 2007. The product has since been adopted across the consumer electronics industry and has become synonymous with durable device glass.

His stewardship of Corning's optical fiber business has positioned the company to benefit from successive waves of telecommunications and data infrastructure investment, from the recovery of the fiber-optic market in the mid-2000s through the 5G wireless build-out and, most recently, the rapid expansion of AI data center capacity. The $6 billion Meta deal announced in January 2026 illustrated the scale of demand for Corning's products in the AI era.

Weeks has maintained Corning's identity as a materials science company with deep roots in its upstate New York community, even as its products have become integral to some of the most advanced technology systems in the world. His leadership has been characterized by long-term relationships with technology industry partners, a focus on core competencies in glass and optical materials, and a willingness to make large-scale investment commitments based on the belief that Corning's technical capabilities can meet emerging market demands.

Lehigh University has recognized Weeks as a notable alumnus, highlighting his role in making Corning "even more durable" as a company. Harvard Business School has also profiled him as part of its alumni community.