According to a press release seen on Yahoo Finance (and others), Apple CEO, Steve Jobs has resigned as the CEO previously COO Tim Cook has taken over as the CEO immediately. Cook also finds himself on the Apple board immediately. Jobs has been on a medical leave since a few months and Cook has always been around handling Apple’s day to day management in Steve’s absence. Serving Apple for 13 years, Cook was widely believed to be the successor to Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs shall remain the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Apple, and the release clearly states that he would be around in his new role. Here, are the exact words:
In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.
Alongside the release, we have also come across a short letter from Steve Jobs addressed to Apple’s Board and the Apple Community. The letter announces his resignation as CEO, application to be the Chairman of Board and recommendation to have Tim Cook as the CEO. Steve says “Unfortunately, that day has come.” And expresses his belief that Apple’s best days are ahead of it.
A lot of questions remain unanswered. We have no updates on the health of Mr Jobs and while many assumptions can be made, we are happy to see a succession plan kick in, and while we would have our analysis about Apple’s future flowing, we would steer clear (as always) of speculating on Mr Jobs personal life / health.
Note: We are yet to see either the release or letter from Steve Jobs on Apple’s PR site, but pretty much every large media outlet confirms the news. Update: Release live on Apple’s site.
