“At a company as tight-lipped about its inner workings as Apple, changes at the top can be hard to gauge,” Peter Burrows reports for BusinessWeek. “But the Nov. 4 announcement that Tony Fadell, development chief for the iPod and iPhone, has been replaced by 26-year IBM veteran Mark Papermaster underscored what’s becoming a growing concern for many Apple investors: Is the company doing enough to nurture possible replacements for Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs?”
“Apple has many top-notch executives. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is considered an operations virtuoso. Retail chief Ron Johnson turned Apple into the world’s most successful retailer by some measures. But while there’s no indication that Jobs is going anywhere soon, when he does move on, finding a successor who combines his penchant for product, head for business, and sales savvy will be no mean feat. Industrial design chief Jony Ive is often mentioned as a candidate. But he’s a great product designer—not a businessman, technologist, or marketer,” Burrows reports.
“Fadell, 39, wasn’t necessarily tailor-made for the CEO job, either. Three people close to Apple say he wasn’t considered a viable CEO candidate,” Burrows reports.
MacDailyNews Take: And so, Fadell’s departure should not prompt the question whether Apple is “doing enough to nurture possible replacements” for Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs.
Regardless, Burrows continues, “Fadell’s departure may not have come as much of a surprise at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. One Silicon Valley executive says he got calls more than six months ago from companies where Fadell had applied for jobs. Some top Apple executives have bristled for years at the notion that Fadell was considered the ‘father of the iPod.’ Silicon Valley lore holds that while he was at Philips Electronics, Fadell came up with the idea for an MP3 player with a hefty hard drive that would synch to a music service, and that he left to sell the idea to other tech companies before joining Apple. But one former Apple manager says the iPod project was already under way when Fadell arrived…”
Full article here.
I’m sure he had some hand in the development of the iPod but he certainly did not design or create it.
I doubt one single person could be completely credited with the iPod, and even if they could the original iPod is worlds different from what it has become today.
I expect the iPhone is similarly a collective collaborative effort.
Anyone with an eye on the top job needs a breadth of experience and would probably like to arrive on appointment rather than be considered a follow-on act from what’s already there….
Stop all this mindless speculation. Steve Jobs is fine. He is not leaving anytime soon. If he does, it will be when he is ready to leave.
Next, stop imagining that one or two people leaving an immense company like Apple and one person coming in really has much significance right now. People come and go every day, plain and simple.
“becoming a growing concern for many Apple investors”
O RLY? Could you cite some credible sources for that statement, Mr. Burrows?
MW: perhaps – as in perhaps not
You really have to be one of those sick minds who put the world in this situation to say such things. Who can seriously think Steve Jobs can be replaced? For sure Apple will be very different after his departure and hopefully his legacy will remains long enough but come on. No one can replace a genius…So why don’t we ignore those morons and stop listening to what they say?
Gabriel,
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smirk” style=”border:0;” />
You’re asking a journalist to back up what they say with facts? Good luck with that one.