When Steve Jobs decided to resign as CEO of Apple, the world stopped and took notice. Although clearly forthcoming, Jobs’ resignation was a little of a shock to the typical consumer, and the share market saw some unexpected dives. Yet, while Tim Cook takes over as CEO, with Jobs retained as Chairman, the company is as stable as can be expected and analysts predict that Apple’s long-term prospects remain unaffected.
While investors express ample support, it must be said that Apple’s history reflects the larger-than-life role that Steve Jobs played to the company’s ascent. Often compared with some of the greatest business giants, Jobs literally retrieved Apple from the depths of despair. When Jobs returned to Apple in the year 1996, after relinquishing his enterprise NeXT, Jobs literally built the Mac OS transforming it into the most powerful operating system to hit the consumer market.
Evidently a change that is influenced by Jobs’ declining health, the company’s future is in good hands regardless. A former Compaq executive with a wide-ranging experience in supply-chain management, Tim Cook has proved time and again to be a worthy successor, particularly during Jobs’ medical absences. While his predecessor may have been more tuned to making flamboyant public presentations, Cook is popularly knows as a perfectionist, preferring meticulous analysis and hard data to open displays of emotion.
It is but understandable that the legacy that is Steve Jobs has set a firm foothold in the tech arena, yet his retention as chairman is an encouraging move. After all, Apple is a company built on its product profile, and not merely on any one individual. And it may just take a lot more that Jobs’ resignation to shake the robust business model that is Apple.