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Are Apple's Directors Planning Steve Jobs' Succession Behind His Back?
With Apple due to report earnings after the close, everyone is focusing on the stock whose market cap at this rate of growth will surpass $1 trillion within a few short years. While we wish Apple all the best in that questionable pursuit, especially if it wishes to avoid a Volkswagen-Porsche type short squeeze, it is interesting to note that the WSJ has reported that "some directors" are pondering the succession of the iconic Steve Jobs, who until 2 years ago was perceived as instrumental and the vision behind what has become the "coolest" brand in technology. The surprising finding is that this may be happening behind his back. From the WSJ: "Since Steve Jobs went on medical leave this winter, some members of Apple Inc.'s board have discussed CEO succession with executive recruiters and at least one head of a high-profile technology company, according to people familiar with the matter. The conversations weren't explicitly aimed at recruiting a new chief executive and were more of an informal exploration of the company's options, said these people. The directors don't appear to have been acting on behalf of the full board, some of these people said. Apple has seven directors, including Mr. Jobs." Jobs response was not very agreeable: "It is also unclear whether Mr. Jobs was aware. "I think it's hogwash." However, while we assume that no voicemails were hacked in the procurement of hits article, we do tend to believe the WSJ, especially with Jobs' frail health in the last few months. Will it impact the stock as it did once upon a time: probably not. Or at least not until such time as the absence of Jobs does change the precarious ecosystem balance of geeky, techy and cool. Finding a replacement will not be easy.
From the WSJ:
For individual members to hold these conversations outside of the official scope of the board is rare at a company where board members, who have been hand-picked by Mr. Jobs, tend to move in lockstep with his wishes. The board is known to be very private and rarely speaks with outsiders about its affairs.
The conversations all took place after Mr. Jobs, 56 years old, went on his second medical leave in two years in January for an undisclosed ailment. He remains chief executive and active during his leave, according to other people familiar with the company. But he has handed off some daily duties and hasn't set a date for his full-time return.
A couple Apple directors have also held talks about the company's leadership with some search firms after those recruiters informally approached them, said three of these people. Apple's directors have made no decision about whether to retain executive recruiters, these people said. Some of the people who talked with Apple directors said they considered the conversations to be more than the routine discussions that they typically have with board members.
The CEO succession discussions follow criticism from some shareholders and corporate-governance experts about Apple's board and its past performance. The Cupertino, Calif., company hasn't shared details about Mr. Jobs's health or its succession plans, despite calls by corporate governance experts and some investors to do so. Last February, a shareholder proposal asking Apple to disclose its succession plan was defeated at the company's annual meeting.
Apple's independent directors take succession planning seriously, said a person familiar with the board's thinking. This person said Apple's independent board members discuss management succession in private sessions without Mr. Jobs held at every board meeting for the past 12 years.
"It's best practice,'' this person noted. "Everybody in the room is sworn to secrecy as to what it [the succession] plan is."
And so forth.
At this point attempting to predict the future for one stock, let along the macro picture, is a supremely foolish task, with so many unknowns, and with everyone letting the chips fall where the Fed and Treasury say.
So any investing decision based on a medium or long-term view of Jobs career is foolhardy at best.
Instead just do what the headline scanning momos do and trade reactively, preferably after a frontal lobotomy: it makes it far more palatable. Better yet, hire a whole lot of monkeys to push buttons as soon as they see the appropriate headline: that is what the entire market has been reduced to - a backward looking, reactionary machine. Gone are the days when anyone pretended stocks discount anything anymore.
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The market in pancreas' should staystrong as long as Jobs insists on remaining alive.
- Chumblez.
Especially in an age where CEO's make more money driving a company into the ground, sell it off to corporate raiders, off load their stock options, then bail with a golden parachute.
Where ever he goes, My heart goes with him. A true visionary that made alot of people happy including myself.
You know, I grew up on Apple. Jobs and Woz are personal heroes. Apple is not Apple without Jobs, but he'll take that damn company to the grave with him if he has to. And he may as well, because once he's gone, so is Apple.
At least Woz knew when to move on.
I am Chumbawamba.
I luv my Macs and think AAPL is an awesome company....but they better have super blowout earnings with the stock up here for the first time.
Just do not get these bond yields, something is wrong. Cannot place it yet.
I vote Bill Gates as the next CEO of Apple
John Chambers maybe? ROTFLMFAO!
Frankly, who the heck cares?
What happened to stock splits; do they not do them anymore? Anyone remember the late nineties - early aughts when splitting your shitty technology sham stock stock once, twice, three times was all the rage?
Safari to replace Jobs
Does a dividend cancel out a sick CEO ?
Well they would be stupid if they didn't, wouldn't they?
Correct. The idiot thinks he will live forever with a back up plan of "see, they can't do it without me".
When the time comes hopefully they'll find someone with a tech background and not an Ivy LEague MBA.
I bet Jobs wishes he could back-date himself...
APPL better find a successor before the man disappears.
How about John Sculley????????
I can't imagine Apple even putting out feelers--unless Tim Cook was shopping himself around. If I were Cook, I would. Pretty much write my own check, at the company of my choice...
The Apple cult is all about Steve Jobs. His departure day marks the date of decline into just another computer hardware company.
That could be true. Look how Apple declined once they ousted Jobs for that cola-huckster John Scully. Then Jobs comes back at a time when Michael Dell states that the best thing Jobs could do for Apple is liquidate the company and give back the money to Apple shareholders.
Every body copies Apple because of that near insane genius of Jobs. Particualarly Microsoft.
Microsoft forces Apple to license many parts of the Mac GUI for their first version of Windows under threat that they would withhold Office from the Mac.
It still takes them until 1995 to make Windows 95 the equivalent of the Mac in 1984.
Apple releases the iPod.
Microsoft release the Zune (which is now dead)
Apple releases the iPhone.
Microsoft releases WinCE for phones now Windows Phone 7. It, along with RIM's Blackberry is dying a slow death.
The only thing I can think of that Microsoft can copy in the near future is that if Jobs dies perhaps Microsoft will copy that and somehow make a way for Steve Ballmer to die.
One death will have a negative impact on the company
One would have a positive effect.
You decide which.