In a memo from Steve Jobs to all Apple employees today, he divulged that he will be on medical leave to focus on his health.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs
55-year-old Steve Jobs will remain as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company, while COO Tim Cook will drive day to day operations. The same arrangements were made when Steve Jobs took 6 months off from January to June in 2009 also on medical grounds.
There is no mention how long the medical leave of absence will last, nor whether it was related to the liver transplant in May 2009 or his earlier victory over pancreatic cancer in 2004.
US Markets are closed for Martin Luther King Day. Apple shares on Wall Street may suffer when it reopens on Tuesday. Between June 6, 2008 and June 26, 2009, when Mr. Jobs began exhibiting weight loss and then went on leave, Apple shares were down 23.3%.
Update: Apple stocks slumped in Europe as its shares fell 6.2% to 244.05 Euro (326.41 USD) at its closing in the Frankfurt stock exchange in Germany.
COO Tim Cook
50-year-old Tim Cook was invited to join Apple as senior vice president of operations from PC maker Compaq in 1998. Unlike Steve Jobs, who is well-known for his slick presentation and showmanship, Tim Cook is quiet, soft-spoken and low-key (wired.com), but adept at keeping a tight ship on operations.
Cook first stepped up to stand in for Jobs as the latter recuperated from surgery for the tumor in his pancreas. Cook then held the fort during Jobs’ absence in 2009.
Perhaps as an indication of the confidence Cook gained during that period, Apple’s shares actually gained some 70 percent from the time Jobs announced his absence on 14 January 2009 till his return on 29 June that year.
Looking ahead, major items on Cook’s palette will include the rollout of the iPhone on Verizon and the widely rumoured launch of the iPad 2 and iPhone 5.
Hailing from Alabama, Cook graduated from Auburn University and enjoys the outdoors and cycling.
Steve Jobs’ email:
Team,
At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.
I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.
Steve
Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook
Don’t think Apple will be the same without Steve Jobs.
Neither do I … sigh. It’s no insult to Tim Cook to say that you don’t come by a Steve Jobs very frequently at all! Tim’s excellent at operations… and there are many in successful companies that are as competent as he is. But Steve Jobs, he’s not only innovative, he’s able to attract, keep and utilise experts in their own fields like Tim Cook around him to realise his vision. That’s what makes Apple and its products so successful.
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