In 2014, head of Apple Tim Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay, writing in a Bloomberg op-ed, "being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

In a new interview with CNN, the CEO says letters from LGBTQ youth inspired him to come out.

"I'm very proud of it," Cook, 57, told Christiane Amanpour in an interview for her program on CNN International and PBS. Being gay is "God's greatest gift to me."

Cook told Amanpour he decided to come out after receiving letters from young LGBTQ people and realized staying silent was "selfish" if he could help others by coming out.

"I was public because I started to receive stories from kids who read online that I was gay, and they were going through being bullied, feeling like their family didn’t love them, being pushed out of their home, very close to suicide—things that just really pulled my heart," he said. "I needed to do something for them, and show them you can be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life, there's a path there. "

Amanpour' interview with Cook will air Thursday, October 25 on CNN International at 3 pm ET, and on PBS at 11 pm ET.