In a shocking story Steve Jobs announced that he is resigning and will be replaced by Tim Cook (former COO (Chief Operating Officer). However, while Jobs is leaving the top job at Apple he will remain as Chairman for the company.
Although this is surprising the writing has been on the wall for some time. Jobs has had more than his share of health concerns this last year and he even alluded to it in his resignation letter.
The announcement resulted in a 5% drop in stock when trading picked up after the announcement.The Apple board and staff praised Jobs saying that he has been the guiding force behind their rise to prominence in the tech market. During Jobs’ second reign as CEO he has helped create such iconic devices as the iPad, iPhone and even the whole iDevice Eco System. Critics have called him arrogant and short sighted in his hatred of Adobe’s Flash and in the way he sometimes pushes for products (and patents) that are often questionable.
Although he is staying on as chairman it is important to note that since Tim Cook has been running the company while Jobs is out on Medical Leave Apple has entered more lawsuits and found itself under the legal microscope for potential falsification of evidence.