January 14th, 2009
Jobs to take medical leave; Cook in charge; Will Jobs appear at WWDC?
Updated: Apple CEO Steve Jobs said Wednesday that he will take a medical leave until the end of June to focus on his health. In the meantime, chief operating officer Tim Cook (right) will take over day-to-day operations.
The news (Techmeme, Apple statement) is likely to start succession planning talk at Apple. Jobs is wrestling with “a hormonal imbalance” and speculation about his health has been rampant. Given the news it only seems prudent that Apple create and disclose a succession plan of some sort.
The timing of Jobs return is also notable since it’s an open question whether Jobs would make an appearance at Apple’s WorldWide Developer Conference this summer. It also should be noted that Jobs handed the reins to Cook for a month in 2004 when he had a tumor removed for pancreatic cancer. Jobs returned after a short rehabilitation period.
In an email to employees, Jobs wrote:
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.
In a nutshell, Apple will have almost six months without Jobs at the helm. The thing to watch will be how Apple’s product cycle goes. If Apple keeps churning out hits it’ll be a good sign for the future health of the company. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, one of Wall Street’s most bullish analysts on Apple, is upbeat:
We believe that during Jobs’ absence, Apple’s sales will be unaffected; in other words, Apple’s customers will not stop buying products because of his absence. More importantly, we believe the pace of innovation will remain solid, driven by key product-minded executives. From an operational perspective, we expect Cook to maintain the same standard of excellence that he demands as COO.
For now though Apple shares are taking a hit, down roughly 6 percent from their market closing price of $85.33.
Munster continues:
Regardless of Jobs’ near-term health concerns, we believe investors should be considering the future of Apple’s leadership. While the iconic leadership of Steve Jobs cannot be fully replaced, we believe his core attributes as a CEO, operationally and with products, can be replicated. Tim Cook provides the operational expertise for the company, which would serve him well as Apple’s CEO. In terms of Apple products, Jonathan Ive and several software executives have played a key role in designing the innovative technology that has spurred Apple sales in recent years. Together, we believe that Cook and the other leaders at Apple can effectively replicate the elements of Steve Jobs’ leadership that have been critical to his success as CEO.
Jobs’ email comes just a few days after a Macworld confab that was disappointing overall. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller didn’t have a lot to work with in the announcement department.
- Why Schiller’s Macworld keynote is a big deal in the big picture
- Macworld show floor: More than just iPhone covers and iPod speakers?
- Apple rolls the dice on fixed MacBook Pro batteries
- Apple’s final Macworld: Schiller delivers but announcements disappoint
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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