25th Aug 11
Steve Jobs resigns as boss of Apple
by Adam Richards
Not fit for the Job: Steve jobs hands over Apple CEO role due to health issues
Not fit for the Job: Steve jobs hands over Apple CEO role due to health issues
Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive of Apple and put business he founded 35 years ago into the hands of new management as he finally succumbed to health problems which have troubled him for years.
Although Jobs will keep the chairman title and stay on as an adviser, he has given day-to-day control to Tim Cook, previously his deputy. In his short but emotional resignation letter which he sent to the board and published to the Apple community, Mr Jobs left no doubt over whether he would return to his former duties.
He wrote that he always stated that if a day ever arrived when he could no longer meet his duties and expectations as chief executive officer of Apple, he would be the first to say it, adding that unfortunately, that day has now come.
The resignation sees the technology world lose one of its influential innovators and visionaries, and casts Apple into an uncertain future. Its products are so closely associated with Mr Jobs that trading in the company’s shares has dramatically fluctuated for years with each new rumour concerning his health.
Even when trading in the company’s shares was halted last night to give investors time to come to terms with the news, Mr Jobs revealed little about his medical prognosis, or about the level of his involvement as chairman. He had taken indefinite medical leave in January this year, but continued to direct key decisions, including the design features of new iPad tablet computers.
Although he has looked thin and unwell on occasions, he made regular public appearances to represent Apple, unveiling its iCloud service to an audience of technology bloggers and press in June and being present at a Silicon Valley bosses dinner with President Barack Obama during the spring.
Mr Jobs wrote that he believes that Apple’s most innovative and brightest days are to come and he looks forward to contributing to and watching its success in his new role. He added that he has made some of his best friends at the company, and that he thanks everyone for the years which he worked alongside them.
Mr Jobs founded Apple Computer along with his friends Ron Wayne and Steve Wozniak when he was 21 in his parents’ Californian home in 1976, and its first devices helped transform the personal computer from something which some people used as a hobby to an easy-to-use device which everyone would desire.
After a boardroom row concerning strategy resulted in him being removed from Apple 10 years later, Mr Jobs returned to save the company, overseeing the launch of the iPod music player, the iPhone and the iPad. Although Mr Cook does not possess the showmanship seen from Mr Jobs at the launch of every new product, he has his own following within Silicon Valley and has been praised for how he has commanded the manufacturing process.
Our Stories
- Sandwich labels misleading shoppers
- Unemployment drops unexpectedly but worse still to come
- Tesco store managers see annual bonuses cut
- Royal Mail: half London sorting office to be sold
- Panasonic announces £3.4bn loss
- Thomas Cook attacks government over holidays at home promotion
- Clinton Cards falls into administration
- Wet April sees high street spending fall
- Five tough years ahead for UK jobs market
- Deal struck to save Thomas Cook
- Discount battle leads to sales decline at Morrisons
- Wetherspoon founder: pubs plans to be hit by taxes
Popular Topics
afghanistan al qaeda amazon Apple ASDA bank of england barack obama BBC british airways china david cameron Debenhams Egypt facebook george osborne Google India ipad iphone ivory coast japan Libya London M&S Marks & Spencer Morrisons nhs North Korea Office for National Statistics pakistan protests russia Sainsbury’s South Korea terrorism Tesco Tunisia UK UK retailers UK retail news UK shopping us Waitrose Wikileaks x factorArchive
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
