Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

[cal04]

Source: Business Wire

Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.

“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”

Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Steve-Jobs-Resigns-as-CEO-of-bw-19285464.html?x=0&.v=1

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http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-apple-ceo/?mod=WSJBlog
Letter from Steve Jobs

August 24, 2011–To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
more at link


My thoughts are with you Steve Jobs.

[hlthe2b]

1. Ohhh... not good...

and I mean with respect to Job's health... Why else? Like him or loathe him, he has been THE driving force behind apple. I wish him well.

[jannyk]

2. Awww shit.

[Auggie]

3. The rare CEO: a driving force for quality

[hang a left]

4. An ilegend nt

[CountAllVotes]

5. Apple says Steve Jobs resigning as CEO

Source: Associated Press

Apple says Steve Jobs resigning as CEO, effective immediately; to be replaced by Tim Cook

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple Inc. says Steve Jobs resigning as CEO, effective immediately.

The company said Wednesday that Jobs will be replaced by Tim Cook, who was the company's chief operating officer.

It said Jobs has been elected as Apple's chairman.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Apple-says-Steve-Jobs-apf-3667841820.html?x=0

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A giant :wtf:

[CountAllVotes]

6. more on this subject here:

Here is the just released letter from Steve Jobs:

***

PRESS RELEASE: Letter from Steve Jobs

August 24, 2011–To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-as-apple-ceo/?mod=yahoo_hs

[CreekDog]

8. Reading between the lines, I wish him all the best

surely he has his faults but what he's done at Apple is extraordinary.

:(

[demosincebirth]

10. Probably still fighting cancer. If so. best wishes to him.

[Confusious]

7. Doomed I tell you. Doomed. nt

[SixthSense]

9. Warning

Falling Apple Stock Price Ahead

[alfredo]

16. Nervous Nellies. It will cool down once the initial shock

has passed. He will stay on the BOD as chairman, but Tim Cook will take over day to day operations.

[cstanleytech]

58. True, now if he was leaving entirely then they might be in trouble

as Jobs was the one that saved the company with the revamp of their computer line as well as the ipod, iphone and ipad.

[alfredo]

62. It hasn't come as a surprise to anyone. We knew the day

was coming.

[cstanleytech]

67. Knowing and being able to actually deal with it are two different things though.

[alfredo]

68. They say Cook has the toughness needed.

[onehandle]

18. Big(ger) selling products coming in the next couple of months, so no.

At least not for long.

Apple will be the world's most valuable company for a long, long time.

[begin_within]

55. And how many times did industry "analysts" predict Apple's doom in the last 30 years?

I wish I'd saved all those articles. About every 5 years or so there would be a wave of press analyzing Apple's demise, and sure, the company has had its ups and downs. But it always bounced back, usually due to some new piece of technology that blew everyone away. I'm not a stock buying person but I do wish I had bought Apple stock during one of those doom-and-gloom periods. Apparently Apple stock was selling for $3.56 in June of 1997 and today it's at $357.10.

[cstanleytech]

59. The company did come close to going under though before Jobs came back.

[rdking647]

32. currently down $20 a share

if it open here tomorrow Im a buyer. if it opens 10% lower im a big buyer.
20% and I back up the truck

[former9thward]

51. You and me both.

Apple will be at 400 in two weeks.

[NYC Liberal]

11. Thanks for everything, Steve. It's pretty clear between this and the pushed up

release of the biography that he is not doing well at all health-wise.

Steve tried to persuade Gore to run again in 2004 (or maybe it was 2008).

Sad day.

[alfredo]

19. Is Gore still on their board? I bet he was the one behind

Apple going green. The Mac Mini is the most energy efficient desktop computer.
http://www.apple.com/macmini/environment.html

[NYC Liberal]

27. He sure is :)

http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/gore.html

[alfredo]

29. Good. Gore knows all the right people, and is respected

in most of the world.

[NYC Liberal]

30. Amen. I get so angry thinking about how we could have had

8 years of President Gore, with Bush being just a distant memory. Republicans and SCOTUS were determined never to let that happen.

[Ruby the Liberal]

41. Distant memory?

I would have preferred 'obscure trivial pursuit answer'.

[NYC Liberal]

42. Crawford Dog Catcher.

Actually, on second thought: I wouldn't want him anywhere near animals.

[neoconn]

40. I hpoe he finds the peace he needs but

Apple as a company will not be as successful in the future...

[NYC Liberal]

43. I disagree. Tim Cook has basically been running the company the

last few years and things have only continued to get better. Jobs has done a good job hiring the right people, and even though he micromanages, he's also instilled his attitude and philosophy in that team.

Apple will be fine.

[jannyk]

12. Duplicate LBN Post.

[frazzled]

13. End of an era ...

No matter what else one might say, Jobs was a visionary. It was more than just comprehending the uses of technology in our lives. He brought an aesthetic sense to both the technology and design of Apple's products from the very beginning that was unique in American production. He was, I guess, an artist at heart.

I hope he will continue on.

[Seedersandleechers]

14. A job well done Steve.

:toast:

[alfredo]

15. Tim Cook will take over. Tim Cook is more than capable, and will

carry on Steve Jobs' vision. He's been taking up the slack while Jobs dealt with his cancer. Jobs would not entrusted him if he wasn't sure of his ability to lead Apple.

I'm not worried. Apple's main competitors are on the ropes, or have given up all together. They were unwilling to invest as heavily in R&D, or take the risks Apple took. They ended up playing catch up. It wore them out.

Will this have much effect on Disney? Jobs is on their BOD, and is one of their top investors. His people (PIXAR), and his vision has helped pull Disney's ass out of the fire.

[onehandle]

22. This also makes the most powerful CEO in the world, a gay man.

Bravo.

[alfredo]

24. Alright!

[onehandle]

17. The world’s most successful CEO is of Arab decent, a staunch liberal, non-Christian, arugula eating

...drug-using, follower of hippie culture, folk music listener and believer in science.
___________________

WHAT THEY'RE "PROTECTING" US FROM

snip...

So, who is this man? He's the anchor baby of an activist Arab muslim who came to the U.S. on a student visa and had a child out of wedlock. He's a non-Christian, arugula-eating, drug-using follower of unabashedly old-fashioned liberal teachings from the hippies and folk music stars of the 60s. And he believes in science, in things that science can demonstrate like climate change and Pi having a value more specific than "3", and in extending responsible benefits to his employees while encouraging his company to lead by being environmentally responsible.

Every single person who'd attack Steve Jobs on any of these grounds is, demonstrably, worse at business than Jobs. They're unqualified to assert that liberal values are bad for business, when the demonstrable, factual, obvious evidence contradicts those assertions.

It's a choice whether you, or anyone else, wants to accept the falsehood that liberal values are somehow in contradiction with business success at a global scale. Indeed, it would seem that many who claim to be pro-business are trying to "save" us from exactly the inclusive, creative, tolerant values that have made America's most successful company possible. I side with the makers, the creators, and the inventors, and it's about time that the pack of clamoring would-be politicians be put on the defensive for attacking the values of those of us on this side.

http://dashes.com/anil/2011/08/what-theyre-protecting-us-from.html

[NYC Liberal]

20. Also smart enough not to run for office.

;)

(Even though we could use a few more liberal, non-Christian, science supporters in office.)

[ixion]

21. last time Jobs left, and Robert Amelio took over

Apple damn near went down the tubes. I expect that's what will happen this time.

[onehandle]

23. Heh. Bookmarked. See you in a year. nt

[ixion]

36. k

[alfredo]

26. Tim Cook knows more than sugar water. He's worked hand

and hand with Jobs for a very long time. When Jobs took sick leave, it was Cook who ran Apple, and has continued to pick up the slack when Jobs couldn't keep up the pace needed.

[ixion]

38. Jobs has the vision that has made Apple what it is

it remains to be seen if Cook has that as well. Vision is something that's almost impossible to teach. I am, however, willing to keep an open mind.

[alfredo]

63. Jobs couldn't have made his vision real without Ive and his

design team.

[Dappleganger]

35. Thank you, Rip van Winkle.

[ixion]

37. hey, get off my beard!

[DissedByBush]

57. Tim Cook has been groomed by Jobs for years

He has already been running Apple during Jobs' absences, and I bet a lot when Jobs was around too.

My big worry is if they lose Jonathan Ive unless he's groomed a replacement.

[ixion]

61. grooming doesn't create vision

and it's not clear that Cook will be able to fill that requirement.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1809487

[onehandle]

65. Wall Street expects smooth transition from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook

'Analyst Maynard Um with UBS remained optimistic about the news. "We expect there to be no transition issues as Cook had been running daily operations as interim-CEO," he said. He sees Apple's longer-term strategy to be "well laid out" for Cook and the rest of the management team to continue to execute. Um also believes that Apple stock will not fall significantly because of the news, as investors have been anticipating the announcement.'

'Mark Moskowitz with J.P. Morgan described the Apple model as "built to last," reiterating the firm's Overweight rating and December 2012 price target of $525.' (That's +40%)

'For his part, Cook has been lauded as an operational genius whose behind the scenes overhaul of Apple's supply chain helped spark the company's meteoric rise. Motley Fool analyst Eric Beeker also noted in an interview with AppleInsider on Wednesday that Cook, despite lacking Jobs' visionary leadership, should do well as CEO, especially with the help of colleagues Jonathan Ive and Phil Schiller.'

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/08/24/wall_street_expects_smooth_transition_from_steve_jobs_to_tim_cook.html

[ixion]

70. uh, so you trust Wall St., eh?

Alrighty then. ;)

Look, I'm not convinced that Cook has the vision that Jobs has. If I'm wrong, and it turns out he does, I'll be happy to say so. Otherwise, I'll stick to my premise.

[Javaman]

25. Steve you did good things.

You changed the world. You showed everyone a new way of looking at things.

I wish you well.

Peace.

[htuttle]

28. Dozens of Apple interns will no longer fear for their careers when they get on the elevator!

[bluedigger]

31. I better get my resume in order. n/t

[Dappleganger]

33. So sorry to hear this, but not surprising.

I fucking hate cancer. :(

[fascisthunter]

34. One of the Most Creative and Innovative Entrepreneurs

of our time... I fear he is losing his battle with cancer. He lived a very full life by giving something back to the world.

[RevStPatrick]

39. Not to be ghoulish, but...

Steve Jobs will die as the Chairman of the Board of the most valuable company in the country, a company which did more than any other to put powerful computers in our pockets, changing the world in the process, a company that he started in his garage when he was a kid.

Not a bad way to go...

[Amerigo Vespucci]

44. I worked there during the Scully years. Things got ugly.

Started out as a pretty decent bunch of people to work with. But as Apple's fortunes declined, so did the work environment. Employees started stealing from each other. Whining became an out of control every day activity. There was a brief window of time in which it looked like the company could very well go under.

I'm not a Steve Jobs fan, but credit where credit is due, and best wishes for a complete victory over his ongoing health issues.

[Fearless]

45. Hopefully he's well... otherwise ehh... I don't care about corporations.

[Kablooie]

46. One of the few who put product before profits and reaped record profits as a result.

[onehandle]

47. 'Jobs’s greatest creation isn’t any Apple product. It is Apple itself.'

Exactly.

http://daringfireball.net/2011/08/resigned

[catzies]

49. +1 n/t

[SoapBox]

48. Not good news...Pancreatic cancer is, like most cancers, nasty.

Good luck Mr. Jobs.

[tawadi]

50. Damn

He must be in very bad shape. :-(

[cal04]

52. A Steve Jobs Retrospective

http://powerwall.msnbc.msn.com/tech/a-steve-jobs-retrospective-10690.gallery
A Steve Jobs Retrospective

[RoccoR5955]

53. Godspeed Mr. Jobs.

Hope he gets better. I know that his health is the major factor in this. Though he is leaving the helm to a capable man, and he will be the Chairman of the Board, I think Apple will be in good hands.

[Yavin4]

54. Steve Jobs Is The Last of a Disappearing Breed of CEOs

Once upon a time, CEOs really cared about their company, their employees, and the goods and services that their companies offered. Today, CEOs manage the company's stock price and their own bonuses.

Employees, customers, service, goods all be damned.

[SHRED]

56. Other than the suicides at Foxconn...

...an outsourcing of jobs...yeah...Steve's a "great" guy.
In fact he ranks right up there with John Mackey in my book.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/china-business/7773011/A-look-inside-the-Foxconn-suicide-factory.html


---

[Jakes Progress]

60. Thank you, Steve. My first Apple was the 512 Mac.

That and the Apple LaserWriter and PageMaker One. You put the program floppy in one drive and used the other for data. No hard drive.

Still have that puppy, though I have been through almost every incarnation of Mac since. This is going out on one of the pair of I-Macs my wife and I bought when we retired. (Her new I-Mac is identical to mine but she still keeps her Daisy I-Mac for sentimental reasons.)

[glinda]

64. This is very sad. Before Apple was big, he actually responded to an email that I

wrote to him about the issues I was having with my first Mac. He fixed them for me and also sent me the most wonderful email. I am heartbroken to think he is having to fight this so hard. I hope he wins but I know it doesn't sound good. Blessings to you Mr. Jobs.

[eridani]

66. Can't help but think of Andy Stephenson and my MIL

Pancreatic cancer is a hell of a bad way to go out.

[hamerfan]

69. RIP, Andy!

And best of luck to Steve.