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Steve Jobs Resigns As CEO Of Apple, Tim Cook Named CEO
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.
Steve
And the official Apple press release:
Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.
“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”
“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “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.”
Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.
As COO, 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.
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Hellloooooooo.
Any word on why?
I presume health was the reason, but still...confirmation?
And, no pressure, Tim Cook...it's not like the entire Nasdaq index is riding on your shoulders.
(Wait, what?)
Sorry, Tim Cook, nearly the entire Nasdaq index is riding on your shoulders.
Schwab: "Trading Halted"
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/APPLE_NUKE.jpg
Nothing like digging up an old, appropriate, 1950's test photo....
--Robert Oppenheimer
Either Steve is about to die, or Apple is about to go down hard and he wants his reputation preserved. Either way, no bueno.
Hopefully Steve is ok, but watching what people "do" as opposed to what they "say", seems it ain't looking good.
Perhaps at Jackson Ho, Bernank launches QE[Apple] this week??
Don't worry: I'm sure Steve is fine.
Looking great for a man of only 56 years...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/06/steve-jobs-apple-wwdc-press-conference_n_871770.html
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.
You ain't fooling anyone, ya psychopath. Apple's brightest and most innovative days will be six feet under with you, Steve. Go quietly. Your time is up.
I am Chumbawamba.
fuck you chumbawamba, you giant sack of shit
Will they be making the iSmug next?
Steve Jobs is a modern day slave owner. Fuck Steve Jobs, his soul rots in perpetual hell.
all dictoras go down after a while.
BUT WHO GETS HIS GOLD?!!
You really are an ass, death to chumbawamba.
How's that.
And by the way, you will obey when needed.
Steve Jobs runs modern day Death Camps. He is a Nazi.
Could not agree more Chumba. Steve Jobs and his "Product" have been giant control instruments.
His skillz have left a whole generation of children deaf or well on their way to deafness.
About time and I hope Apple crashes and burns. I love the biblical significans of it all though.
Bitten apple? Job(s) with a Tablet? Too funny.
Oh and by the way, all his employees are either afraid of him or hate him. What an awful legacy. Plus most of his "ideas" were stolen (Xerox Park???).
Steve J was a set up from a long time ago, his time has finally come, big sign.
Vivek
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/precursor-03-bottom-falling-out-still-still-and-a-gander/
My brother bought his 2.5yr old an ipad2 the other day. There are 'learning apps' and whatnot on it..
Cant say i would do the same when i have kids, but then again, who knows. One kid wants what the other kid has, right. Would not give it to a kid of such a young age though. Im a fan of the iphone and have had one every generation, but will never go the mac route and hopefully something comes along (W7 phone??) that come surpass the rather stale iphone.
You're so kewww!
SJ is dying. Ever seen someone who is really sick? Read all the <I hate SJ> posts... say what you one will, but he would never leave the helmas long as he was standing, if he thought Apple was in danger. The only thing that's kept the dude alive this long is his passion for his baby!
That, and lots of really expensive medications that you & I could never afford or even have access to....
Actually, you could probably get the expensive experimentals that he's taking. You'd feel like shit and I'm sure he does, but he keeps going. But I get it, you don't like the guy.
Maybe but can we all afford some eight year old Indian kids liver?
Ok, just googled about. I see your point. If you had his money, you would probably do the same.
Jobs knows he only has a little tlme left and he doesn't trust anyone with his legacy so he's gonna drive it into the ground before he dies.
That, anyway, is the cynical opinion of my 15 year old son. I'm kvelling. I thought I'd have to live another 15 years before seeing my work come to fruition.
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
Speaking of those 'destroyer's. They do favor the limp wristed front man dont they? Perhaps they should at least add Steves head next to Walts before they drain his company like a scourge of orgastic mosquitoes.
Remo Williams?
You can listen to old Oppenheimer in his own words.
Oppenheimer is quoting Bhagavat Gita
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x39eRJA1aVU
NASDAQ riding on Apple?
NASDAQ?
Fuck no. Apple is not an American company, but a wing of the CPC. And the CPC will nationalize the productive apparatus when the time comes. So I guess they'll nationalize the NASDAQ.
Got oil, bitchez? China has.
http://azizonomics.com/2011/08/22/is-venezuela-next/
the entire US markets is interconnected with AAPL. It's a huge node in the network. If it goes down, it reverberates across the network. It'll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow, one day before Jackson Hole, and 2 trading days, before the ending of the European short ban.
Given the massive allocation of AAPL shares in hedge funds and mutual funds, a significant move down in share prices could have noticeable consequences.
And then, there's that whole leverage problem...
I believe I hear a black swan landing...the straw that breaks the camel's back.
I don't think my initial comment is incompatible to any of the responses. If I was running an American hedge fund (thank God I don't) I don't think any of my major equities' manufacturing bases would be located in an autocratic and unfriendly nation half the world away.
Apple are very cosy with the CPC. And Steve Jobs — and the organisation he has actuated — is way ideologically closer to Mao than Thomas Jefferson.
There's a clusterflock in there somewhere...
"Tim Cook is credited with pulling Apple out of manufacturing by closing factories and warehouses around the world. This helped the company reduceinventory levels and streamline its supply chain, dramatically increasing margins."
optimisation, bitchez
http://mostlyeconomics.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/nassim-taleb-on-living-with-black-swans/
reminds me of mitt romney...
Mr. Cook will successfully reduce AAPL's weighting in the NASDAQ index.
Down 6% after hours: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aapl&ql=1
Actually teared up reading that bit. Steve Jobs is an American icon and a hero to what makes this nation great, i.e., innovation. God rest his soul if this is his life's curtain call.
For anyone doubting how important a competent CEO is, and how hard it is to find a confidence inspiring one, contrast Apple with Hewlett-Packard...
...and then look at their relative share performance.
Yes, these things matter. A lot.
or GE
or SBUX
Or USA
Jobs deserved CEO of the decade imo...been on macs myself since 1994....
Through the years, great gear, well designed and executed...marketing genius....i fault him for making "proprietary" headphone jacks and the world's shittiest AC plugz and other bullshitty PC moves like that the last few years.
mostly though, any admiration i've lost for the man stems largley from ONE thing...
I fault him, big time, for joining the herd and manufacturing in China
Since 1995 here; a 5300 powerbook.
Apple's been up to some naughty things as of late. Part of the "change" no doubt. Who knows what actually happened in those boardrooms though, IMHO too uncertain to actually know for certain.
As for the China comments; didn't they say they're moving production back to the USSA?
Anyway, cheers Steve, for the efforts when the going was tough back in 1998.
He's a fucking liberal. Although, I have all their products!
Teared up? Fuck Jobs
Obama says that every day.
Oh snap!!
Very insightful!
Apple has 50 billion in cash you morons. I hear it even has a product or two.
In which bank? They just have inflation and counter party risk
Why? Just because they outsource their contract manufacturing overseas? They employ between 30 and 40 thousand in the USA, up from 700 or so a decade ago.
Not to mention millions of application developers.
People like to bitch about jobs, would you rather not have Apple be successful? Should they rather produce iPhones and iPads in the USA and focus on creating 100,000 minimum wage jobs or should they focus on advancing technology such as tablet computers? Next you're going to complain ATMs put bank tellers out of work. Should they petard like borders? Or cisco?
Apple is American as they come. Started small, got big, partially died, got resurrected and is innovating. Started by a few guys with big ideas.
Apples always carried a slightly higher, "aspirational" price tag...so, they would have made a few less billions...
Steve "Jobs" could have bucked the China wage arbitrage trend (global Plantation system) and had a hand perhaps in an American manufacturing renaissance..."led by example" etc but No....He'll be going out as Steve "Job" for offending his American "Maker" no doubt...
Sure, "minimum wage jobs", why not?
My kid, (now at college) couldn't find one this summer...
i have zero patience with you globalists by the way...NONE
Goodbye, Jobs, you stinking fascist copyright-mongering scum.
Thanks to you and your evil alter-ego Gates, 95% of the planet has been enslaved by your disgusting greed and oppression of creativity.
Die, you motherfucker, DIE!
Free software will dance on your grave forever, bastard!
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
I'm not sure I understand your post. Are you saying you're sad that Mr. Jobs is quitting? can you please be a little more forthcoming in what you post?
Your son Mr Thorne, The son of the Devil
Okay, so that was really random.
ultimate trolling eh? you mean oppression of copycats since all i see are loser devs waiting on the next apple product that they can mimic with shittier parts
the 2nd gen mac air is brilliance that will never be copied.. net books are shit and weigh 3 times as much with smaller screens
Lol, gotta love the bullshit software method patents!
OK, so posting on free software at ZH is like posting on gold or Ron Paul at a knitting enthusiast site. I didn't expect a high degree of comprehension. Just think of yourselves as middle-aged housewives who have no idea about money or markets, and, if you feel like learning something, go to gnu.org. I figured this stuff out before you understood the Fed, bitchez. Jobs is an asswipe on the scale of that financial genius Mr. Greenspan, for those who have a clue.
Your a butt, "but" I can't stop watching your avatar .. ;-)
aside from the wishing death part, I agree with where yer to.
http://www.moronail.net/img/2289_mac_pc
You are an advocate of open source, me too. But that is no excuse for sounding off like a jerkfuckdickhead. There is room in the world for people who want to pay for software and those who want to charge for software, and free software too. Come down from Mount Olympus you are just a mortal.
BTW, what Jobs did in his career was exceptional. You may not agree with the process, but that doesn't alter the facts. The guy will probably not live to see Thanksgiving, lighten up.
you're a douche; been developing software for 20 years; met the creator of GNU at a Netware convention in Tokyo; copyright give people jobs; artist.
Gnu.org? http://tinyurl.com/cmq6h6
STFU neckbeard.
so many commentators here are complete idiots. get a real life
Here is the real history of Apple from its real creator,
Steve Wozniak: How I Invented the Personal Computer
http://fora.tv/2006/09/26/Steve_Wozniak#fullprogram
@smore: Is that you, Richard Stallman? Three novenas to St. IGNUtius.
Dude, take the 15 minutes to jailbreak an iPhone and put all the free software you want on it. I suppose the American economy would be awesome if every company were run like GM. Who would buy a $1600 iPhone with a made in USA label? Time to get over the notion that barring war with China or complete US economic reset, there will ever be an abundance of assembly line jobs in the US. Adapt the skill set you have or starve.
not good news.
I beg to disagree. Fucking EXCELLENT news. Waiting for the obituary. Does the phrase "corporate strategy of dumbing down" mean anything to you?
does the Zen Koan 'what is the sound of one hand fapping' mean anything to you?
We know why. As the last safe haven and as the most recognized ceo, his resignation will be rembered (blamed) as the cause for the drop. The topping we have seen in the last coulpe of weeks was starting do get the sheeple rumbling against the oligarchs. They can now point the cause as something recognizable: Apple. The Bernank a traitor? Huh? "Nope.... steve Jobs retired, thats why my portfolio took a dump...."
Let's hope Tim Cook > Steve Ballmer
We can hope, but after reading Tim Cook's resume i am not excited. He is a hardcore operations guy (and damn good at it) but he is not an innovator. I see Steve Ballmer part duex
Android/Linux is eating Microsoft's lunch and if Cook is not careful, Apple will be added to the menu.
Innovation is a wonderful thing. And if AAPL does bring their game, Android will have to run the harder. A story that only gets better with time.
Steve Jobs brought it, more than once. Good on him and Apple. Products that people swear by, technology legends, earnings in the open market, no Gov bail-outs, strong stock performance (for whatever reason). A perfect storm.
If we had that mojo in our auto industry we'd all be driving sleek hybrids from Ford that get 60mpg. But we don't so we never will, and our economy is a joke as a result.
Why more don't see this is a wonder.
Get Washington out of the auto industry and it will find an innovator such as SJ and thrive. What with Obama paying back bribes to the UAW and the ridiculus regulations from likes of Reid and Pelosi our auto industry is dead.
Next up, Washington "suggests" Apple put a big hand crank on every iPhone as part of their "green jobs" initiative.
He is a "Cook" yes? Maybe edible iPads in the future? Chocalate chip please....
I have a Droid. The Android platform needs to get a lot better if it wants to win long term. It ain't a better product than an iPhone right now.
OK, what would you like to see, or like to see fixed?
And yes, I do have a professional interest
On the general topic: As for Jobs leaving (again, don't forget NExT), I have mixed feelings. He ran the company like a control-freak monster, his decision to close Apple's architecture almost killed the company, BUT....
If it were not for things like the Newton and the AppleII, we would be a whole lot worse off. Without his marketing skills, Woz alone would not have been as successful. The whole PC thing would look very different now,and not (IMO) better. The beauty of the Apple II was the open architecture and the fact it forced IBM and the PC to follow in its footsteps.
A CEO who actually wants to run a company that makes more than just money (eg banks) is rare.
geezus, steve ballmer is a fucking idiot, tim cook has been running the fucking show for the past 5 years
dude has less than a year to live. you can tell, since he remains gaut this far after surgery
He did a hell of a job...
screwing the ignorant...
...milking the bovine...
....shafting the plebs...
Running sweatshops to make products that made people forget.
An eminence front- it's a put on!
iNightmare
call me when he's dead. i don't care whose running the show. it's like putin and medev. jobs will still be there.
Mr. Cook will do just fine at the helm.
Whoa.
Adios Steve
Adios indeed sir. All due respect to the man, I have waited a long time for this moment. After many years of slapping investors in the face AAPL will now have to adhear to the rules of gravity and become... gasp... just another equipment manufacturer. (and get the multiple that goes with it)
Surprised he stuck around HQ as long as he did while undergoing pallative chemo. Best wishes, Steve.
Huge egos like that don't like to quit while history is still to be made. I take this as a strong indicator that SJ thinks this is a great time to exit such that his "history" ends on the highest note possible.
Regards,
Cooter
.
.
There once was a genius named Steve
But health problems caused him to leave
Could we get back on track
If the "jobs" would come back?
There are so many reasons to grieve!
There once was a Limerick King
Liked doing his rhyming thing
Brought his game to Zero Hedge
Whereupon did ZHers pledge
You'll say 'bitchez' or take wing
Very nice Tuesday Ben, very nice. :-)
Vivek
AAPL going down hard bytchez
AAPL woodshedded in the AM BITCHEZ!
Trading resumes at 18:55 ET tonight.
this is a big bite
iResign
Arf!
Niiiice
iDead
iRejoice.
Bring it! Gates next. Death by malaria would be nice. Freedom, people, FREEDOM!
you are free to write software and give it away
FUCK OFF RACIST.
Best avatar ever.
iAgree
First, what trav7777 said.
Second, your rejoicing at a man's demise is distasteful.
Next, perhaps I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that your criticisms and bitching are like the various minorities who complain "Hollywood doesn't write people like me good parts". Got a pencil and paper?
Finally---where I am definitely right---despite your shameless attempt to draw attention to yourself via your avatar, history is going to devote an infinitely greater number of bytes and pixels to Steve Jobs than whomever you are or could ever have been. As it should.
Disclosure: I've got one of those iPod things and an old 128K Mac. That is the extent of my business with Steve Jobs, which would not qualify me for fanboi status. Still, I can fully appreciate his brilliance and the fact that humanity produces very few models of his caliber. It's a overused saying, but the world is a better place for him having been in it.
Good post chin, as usual
Today, Apple lost its Captain Kirk. Or Jean-Luc Picard.
Ok, so which is it?
I would have said Captain Kirk up until Shatner started doing those Priceline negotiator commercials.
I'm going with Joe DiMaggio now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOzkmyDMQIc
Denny Crane. 6,403 never lost a case.
Sugar Ray Robinson Professional Boxing RecordOr Molly Brown.
Globalisation's poster-boy!?!?! NOOOOO!!!!
That changes Jack's Hole.. The Bernanke is sweating now.
aww shucks, Bernanke has to make do with the bearish gold AND stock charts as a backdrop.
We're going back to The Newton and techie dark times.......
The economy practically rests solely on distractions, ads, apps, and iStuff.
is it only me but he missed the whole "internet bubble" thing. interpret that as you may.
Yep, dead right, he was out and out a "downsizer". But he came back with a vengeance into the Internet world when he made ipod, iphone and ipad. He leap frogged them all. Where are AOL and Yahoo today, the early worms of Internet?
Not the NEWTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I still have one. Color me nostalgic.
iHad a Lisa. iDivorced that ho. (really my son's bitch mother)
Maybe the Great Chairsatan will announce QE3 early to settle the markets before the opening bell tomorrow
What a FUBAR world we live in when TPTB are totally consumed by the performance of the stock market.
What a world we live in when Apple is more valuable than an oil company. Yeah, iPADs are more important than the substance that has enabled modern living.
I still use a Samsung flip phone. It works just fine. I have never purchased an Apple product of any kind.
the iphone is a great product, everyone i know who has used one has enjoyed it. But definitely not the cheapest phone to own.
My iPhone 1 is still operational, which is more than I can say for my Nokias, Ericsons and shitty Motorola razors.
Listen lady...equity price has nothing to do with importance. Who the hell taught you that market cap has anything to do with importance? Oxygen is really fucking important, and it's free.
Max Fischer, Civis Mundi
The breathable variety won't be someday soon, just watch.
Not sure what sense your statement makes. I guess if you want to feel better about pressurized and slow-cooked plant and animal life, you could add up all the market caps of every single company involved in the oil industry, from drillers to producers to transport. Does that work? Better you let your frustration out on Big Stick Teddy R.
Personally, I kind of have a soft spot for intellect, innovation and plain old brilliance (call it a celebration of the human spirit), so don't get miffed about market caps or feel any compassion for a gooey brownish sludge.
TPTB could give two shits about the stock market... but they want you to.
They should live on when the orginal dies off.
Money can't buy you love or health, for that matter.
In Jobs' case, it bought him some time.
And so ends the decline in Gold.
He wants to spend more time with his family...........
A man of infinite capability : think different, think aesthetic, think seamless, user friendly solutions. Magic, from Mactintosh to today. I'll nerver forget my first powerbook way back in 1992. Worked like a jewel. Vaya con dios.
He was a good salesman.
I'm sorry. Let me be more respectful of Jobs. He was a marketing genius.
He was a marketing genius who grasped the brilliance in others. He would have been unknown if it had not been for Wozniak, the real brains behind the early operation and he would have been much poorer if he hadn't gotten in on the ground floor with Pixar.
iCancer
uDolt
He had his shit together--and was straight up enough to call it quits when he knew he couldn't cut it anymore. Thumbs up Mr. Jobs. Milestones
He had his shit together
Still remains to be seen. Hopefully this is part of a transitional plan and he is planning stick in the background and ease out over a couple of years. If he is so sick right now that he cannot get up in the morning, then a disservice was done.
Maybe they'll announce the iPad 4 and iPhone 6. Well, they better if they don't want to see a 20% dive in the AM..
dividend ?