You gotta be kidding right? This is it, The End of Apple Era. What a shocking news for the world and millions of apple fans. I myself personalty was shocked to know that. Now am thinking, who will unveil the iphone 5, it wont be that much exciting in conference room with out Steve Jobs Speech and style of introducing new product.
I will seriously miss his legendary words “O wait, There is One more Thing” 🙁
Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple and Tim Cook appointed as the new CEO of Apple.
Steve Jobs, the man who is largely credited with resurrecting Apple in the 1990s, has officially resigned as CEO of Apple. This news was comes with little surprise: When the former Apple CEO was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, rumors immediately began to circulate that his resignation was only a matter of time.
Steve Jobs, the ailing tech visionary who founded Apple Inc., said he was unable to continue as chief executive of the technology giant and handed the reins to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook.
Apple said Mr. Jobs submitted his resignation to the board of directors on Wednesday and “strongly recommended” that the board name Mr. Cook as his successor. Mr. Jobs, 56 years old, has been elected chairman of the board and Mr. Cook will join the board, effective immediately, the company said.
“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,” Mr. Jobs said in his resignation letter. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”
Art Levinson, chairman of Genentech and an Apple board member, said in a statement that the board “has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO. ” He added that Mr. Jobs will “continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”
Cook was previously responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.
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.
As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.
I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.
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Mr. Cook, 50, has been widely considered as the leading candidate to succeed Mr. Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January. The 13-year Apple veteran, who joined the company shortly after Mr. Jobs took over for the second time in 1997, has been running the day-to-day operations during this period as he has done during two prior medical leaves of absence by Mr. Jobs in the last seven years.
The announcement likely marks the end of one of the most extraordinary careers in U.S. business history. Mr. Jobs not only co-founded Apple—and the personal computer industry along with it—but decades later played a central role in reshaping the music, movie, animation, and mobile-phone businesses.
“Steve Jobs is the world’s magic man. No compromises,” wrote John Sculley, who led the company from 1983 for a decade, in an email. Mr. Sculley was recruited by Mr. Jobs in 1983 as CEO, but ousted him in 1985 after a power struggle.
Mr. Jobs—widely known for his mercurial, demanding management style—drove his company relentlessly to make products that consumers lusted for, unveiling them in heavily rehearsed events that earned him a reputation as high-tech’s greatest showman.
It earned him a fortune that he said he wasn’t interested in. The company pays Mr. Jobs a salary of $1 a year. He also has Apple shares worth about $2.1 billion, and is the single largest Disney shareholder, with stock worth about $4.4 billion.
Even after his health began to fail, Mr. Jobs insisted on turning up at key product launches—including the introduction of the iPad 2 earlier this year, where he was greeted with a sustained standing ovation.
“I think his brilliance has been well-documented, but what gets forgotten is the bravery with which he’s confronted his illness,” said Howard Stringer, Sony Corp.’s chief executive. “For him to achieve this much success under these circumstances doubles his legacy.”
Perhaps more than any other CEO, Mr. Jobs has developed a cult-like following among both employees and customers who hang on his every word at press conferences and vigorously defend the executive from those who might question his products.
Former Apple employees say he created a unique culture inside the company, and affected how other Silicon Valley companies think about innovation.
“Steve inspired an entire generation of entrepreneurs and creative people to think about things in terms of innovation and design,” said Dave Morin, the CEO of start-up Path Inc. and an Apple employee from 2003 to 2006.
The announcement focuses attention on the health of Mr. Jobs, who was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004 and underwent a liver transplant two years ago.
Mr. Jobs hasn’t commented on it since he said in a letter in January that he was taking another leave of absence to “focus on my health.” He appeared thin at Apple’s annual developers’ conference in June.
People familiar with the matter say Mr. Jobs has continued to be active at Apple and closely involved in the company’s product strategy. To the extent his health permits, some Apple watchers think that involvement is likely to continue even after Mr. Cook takes the CEO post.
While Mr. Jobs’s resignation is a blow to Apple, the company has a solid pipeline of products, churning out new versions of its Macs, iPhones, iPads and iPods every year.
A person familiar with the situation has said in the past that the board spends most of its time discussing product development and there is a roadmap in place for the next several years. Its next iPhone is expected in mid-October.
“This definitely marks the end of an era,” said Michael Gartengerg, an analyst for Gartner, but he added that “there’s much more to Apple than Steve Jobs.”
Thanks to wsj.com