Steve Jobs Quits Apple, Cook Takes Over

A hi-tech era ended yesterday as Steve Jobs quit as CEO of the company he founded, leaving Apple to prove at last that it can maintain its success without its leader's legendary mystique. In many ways, Jobs is going out on a high, having reinvented Apple around the mobile iDevices, with a level of impact that has shifted the wireless industry forever. Apple may well be at its peak in this respect, as it faces rising challenges to its mobile dominance, and any decline in its fortunes will surely now be blamed on the absence of Jobs.

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• Yet he would undoubtedly have hung on to try to turn the company around yet again, had it not been for his poor health, which prompted the board to demand an unpopular succession plan at the start of this year, and which saw him step down three times from active duty as CEO, handing the reins to COO Tim Cook, who now replaces him.
• Sadly, it seems that Jobs' multiple health problems, which are shrouded in secrecy at Apple, have finally defeated him. He is reported to be mainly housebound, though he attended a board meeting on his final day at work, and in his farewell statement he 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. Unfortunately, that day has come."
• There will be reams of analysis of Jobs' career and legacy, on this website among others, and respect for the man's influence, as well as sympathy for his illness, makes it seem churlish to remember the low points, notably when he was ousted by the board in 1985. But his legend grew around his comebacks, and Apple's test, under Cook, will be to prove to nervous investors that the firm retains that resilience and inventiveness, and is not the product of a single inspirational co-founder.
• Cook is well proven, because of his stints of standing in for Jobs, and often underestimated - arguably the excellence of Apple's supply chain and operational keenness are as critical to its success as its higher profile qualities of creativity and marketing wizardry, and those are largely down to Cook. But he lacks the charisma of his predecessor, and hi-tech firms find transitions away from their founders notoriously difficult.
• For now, Jobs is ceding the stage to Cook ahead of the presumed 'iPhone 5' launch and with 'iPad 3' and possibly low end iPhones in the wings. These will be products still conceived under the Jobs mantle, even if his personal input has been reduced in recent months. In device terms, the 'Cook launches' will come in mid-2012, which will also mark a critical period for Apple in its increasingly defensive battle against Android.
• "He's always going to be remembered, maybe for the next 100 years, as the greatest technology business leader of our time," Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple told Bloomberg. "Company culture doesn't change overnight. He's got tens of thousands of employees. The quality of the products reflects how good they are, too."

Stephen Elop, the man charged with rescuing Nokia with the havoc that the iPhone wrought upon it, was generous in his reaction to the news. "Steve Jobs is a visionary in the computer industry. We look forward to both Steve and his team having a positive impact on our industry for many years to come."