Steve Jobs has resigned as the CEO of Apple as he can “no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO”. A succession plan had already been worked out at the major computer company and Tim Cook will immediately take up Jobs’ role.
The enigmatic leader of the company, which had revenues of over $28 billion in the last quarter, was renowned for presiding over melodramatic product launches in which zealous Apple fans would whoop and cheer during breaks in the speech. Jobs was diagnosed with first experienced serious health issues in 2004 and began delegating some tasks to Tim Cook in 2006.
Steve Jobs will now serve as Chairman of the Board and Director at Apple. In his resignation letter, Jobs thanked his friends at Apple and strongly recommended the appointment of Tim Cook as CEO. The former head of Apple is also a director on the board of Disney after having founded Pixar Animation Studios which sold to Disney in 2006. He was famously paid $1 per year as CEO of Apple, but holds significant shares in both Apple and Disney.
Art Levinson, the Chairman of Genentech, spoke on behalf of the Apple board on the appointment of Mr Cook, “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”. Mr Cook has previously worked at Compaq, Intelligent Electronics and IBM. He has an MBA from Duke University and an industrial engineering degree from Auburn University.
