“On Thursday, Google along with its strong quarterly numbers, announced that its co-founder Larry Page will become the new Chief Executive of the company starting April 4,” Manikandan Raman reports for The International Business Times. “Larry Page, who founded Google along with Sergey Brin, will take the reins from Eric Schmidt, who has been holding that position since 2001.”
“As the market will be concerned in the near-term with the management shuffle, an analyst at Jefferies even hinted at a possibility that Eric Schmidt could become the Chief Executive of Apple Inc., whose CEO Steve Jobs has gone on an indefinite medical leave and Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook has been taking care of day to day operations,” Raman reports. “At first thought, Schmidt moving to Apple would rather seem unlikely, but not impossible either. ‘While not necessarily likely, we think this scenario is at least a possibility,’ Jefferies analyst Peter Misek wrote in his note to clients… Misek said ‘Apple’s future is likely to increasingly overlap with Google in the areas of cloud computing, advertising, and content. Schmidt could help position Apple for that shift.'”
Raman reports, “Moreover, Apple is not new to Schmidt. He has already served as a board member at Apple for three years. In August 2006, Eric Schmidt was elected to Apple’s board and three years later, he resigned from his position as board member of Apple due to conflict of interests and the growing competition between Google and Apple.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Only if Bill Gates turns it down. 
*spit take*
If, If, If, ….. as long as Steve Jobs is around this is: pillow talk…
Wow, someone needed to fill a writing quota for the day. Where the h do they get these ideas?
LOL @ MDN’s take.
My first thought after reading the headline, was “HELL NO!”
There’s pretty much no way this would happen. Tim Cook would be a much better CEO for Apple than any other business executive.
If the world stopped spinning, and Eric Schmidt did become CEO of Apple, I would no longer be a long term AAPL investor.
I have no doubt Creepy Schmidt would pull a Ballmer on Apple.
Ahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Um, no.
It’s true. It IS possible.
Monkeys could also fly out of my ass.
(I could see him returning to BoD though)
Apple is moving so fast these days that the analysts are becoming downright delirious!
so they have found thei sculley clone to raid the cash hoard.
Pure BS but the shysters will try anyway.
schmidt becoming apple ceo is like a trojan horse
When hell freezes over or the Bills win the Super Bowl, whichever is first.
One of the craziest and stupidest things yet put in print.
Schmidt (or anyone leading Google, for that matter) doesn’t have the chops needed to lead an innovator like Apple. Schmidt, Bryn and Page should just stay at Google where they can continue to make perpetually-beta products and steal others IP. They couldn’t come up with an original idea if their advertising revenue depended on it.
What does Apple have to gain from Schmidt ? Apple doesn’t need visibility nor a CEO. It does want some visionary engineers and designers who are fundamentally good people.
No matter how skilled Schmidt is, the answer is a Goddamn No.
Ballmer could be strategy chairman, because we like it, we like it alot.
And I was putting my money on Michael Dell
Whatever that analyst is smoking should be against the law. It seems to have impaired his reality quotient. . . . If he was driving an automobile he could mistake a brick wall for an expressway on ramp.
I’m guessing the writer (certainly not a reporter) pulled that one out of his ass..
Better choices than Eric Schmidt:
Pee Wee Herman
Burt Lancaster
Mark Linn Baker
Suzanne Sommers
Al Roker
Lassie
Hahahahahaha!
What, they were serious?
That’s as likely as Gates, Ballmer, Dell, Sculley, Gore, Cuban, Trump and Dan Lyons.
@ AppleJack, agree.
And this anal$yst gets paid to make remarks like this in a research note.
Moronic.
“Hey, look at me, I’m a reporter!! I pull stories out of my ass, and publish the shit on the world wide interwebs!!!”
I’d sell my stock in AAPL if someone from outside was named CEO. If that happened all the senior level talent would leave.
It has begun.
Keep your arms and legs inside the car until the ride comes to a stop.
I think if this happened you would see all or most of the executive team at Apple resign in support of Tim, he has paid his dues and proven himself as good a choice as any (not that anyone could replace Steve) to lead Apple.
OMG – I read the fricking headline and about chocked!!! This moron is on drugs!! Eric Schmidt?? NO WAY!!
Eric Schmidt as Apple CEO? “Saints presarve us! Say ’tisn’t so!” as Mr. Dooley might have said.
A couple of large men should separate Manikandan Raman from his keyboard and escort him from the The International Business Times headquarters (where you would likely hear the braying of farm animals in the background of phone conversations).
And ensure that he never writes again.
heresy.
@PR: too damn funny. But I actually think that Lassie or Suzanne would be better odds long shots. And likely more qualified.
Prediction: Sarah Palin and President Obama will agree on health care reform in the next 12 months.
There. Now I’m qualified to be an analyst for Jefferies.
The excellence of Apple’s management team is lost on these idiot analysts.
They would all drown in a lake that averages just 12″ deep.
I’m reminded of the line in the movie “Midway”, delivered by the character Admiral Halsey from the hospital, when he recommends Ray Spruance, a junior officer, as his replacement on the MIdway sortie,
“Anyone who can keep his cruisers and destroyers along side my carrier without running into me is a damn fine officer.”
Tim Cook, who has been alongside Jobs, and doing one hell of a job supporting him, I’m sure is going to make a damn fine CEO
If true, will this be 1985 all over again for Apple? How John Sculley-esque would that be to hire Eric?
Steve Ballmer might be looking for a job by then.
Somebody could easily file 500 words on that subject too.
Shallow dimwits.
Money doesn’t talk, it swears. Capitalism has an ugly sister, and she’s dumb, too.
“Root of all evil?”
It’s like anything- great if you don’t become obsessed with it.
… Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny are unavailable.
Schmidt is a sleazy stooge (ie. A perfect fit for Googlesoft)
Gee guys. This isn’t impossible. There are some things that in hindsight, make it look like there’s some possibility to this idea.
The first is that he changes position right after Jobs takes his leave, where he says that he “hopes” to return to Apple. Previously, he and schmitt meat for coffee, as we should all remember. Everyone was wondering what that was all about. Perhaps there was a discussion of whether Schmitt would be interested in returning to Apple somehow.
With all the derision here, Schmitt is a pretty bright guy, and has led Google pretty well. Without him, who knows where Google would be today. And it’s even possible that Cook doesn’t want to be CEO. That may be hard to believe, but not everyone wants to be top honcho.
Not saying this will happen, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. We should keep an open mind about this and not have knee jerk reactions. It’s interesting that not even the kids who write the MDN take have said anything negative.
Well, now I see they did make some remark, Sigh, I guess youmcan’t keep children from saying the most amazing things.
Tim Cook should get the job, Not the failed Eric Schmitt. Why would Apple want a failure. He has taken Google in 100 different directions with no real goal as to what the company should be. Is it a search company, a phone company, a TV company. All the products are there but no support behind any of them to make them last. Apple would be stupid to hire Eric.
I think Mac Daily News just write absurd articles like this to get traffic to their website. If they continue they may push more people away more than they attract.
People, people, please have mercy. Since the CEO position at micro$oft is closed what else is there to do for a village idiot but become an analyst? I think we should give the guy some encouragement instead of abuse. Write him a short mail to let him know he missed the mark (by some billion light years) and wish him more luck next time. Don’t be cruel. Be kind.
Raman’s noodle diet is not getting enough nourishment to his little brain, methinks.
Eric the spy will never see the inside ofApple HQ again.
I wonder if they can lure away Mark Hurd from Oracle?
@papasmack
The no porn sign at Apple pretty much means Hurd is unlikely to find Apple an “interesting” company to manage. And thats all I can say because I’m sworn to secrecy as part of the settlement.
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“At first thought, Schmidt moving to Apple would rather seem unlikely, but not impossible either. ‘While not necessarily likely, we think this scenario is at least a possibility,’
Wow, what a way with words.. oh sure it’s a possibility when your building web hits for the day..
What a stupid “analysis”..
Does anyone remember the overheard conversation between Jobs and Schmidt outside the coffee shop? Wasn’t it something like.. ‘they’re gonna find out soon enough already’
a hamster would make a better CEO of Apple than Schmidt.
Troll fodder – dont click the link to his website.
Will NEVER happen.
Schimdt fucked apple when he was on the board. he stole IP and then google made their iPhone ripoff.
He should have a restraining order and not be allowed to go anywhere near Apple.
The guy is scum, and google are the technology version of the Mafia.
I’ll prefer a propped-up, reanimated, zombie corpse of Steve Jobs standing on a stage and running Apple before i’d let “the Mole” get his hands on the inner sanctum…
MW – “finally,” as in finally tired of this BS known as “business reporting”…
I’ll prefer a propped-up, reanimated, zombie corpse of Steve Jobs standing on a stage and running Apple before i’d let “the Mole” get his hands on the inner sanctum…
MW – “finally,” as in finally tired of this BS known as “business reporting”…
I want some of what Raman is smoking.
I think it will be Lady Gaga. I mean, it’s possible, right?
Heaven forbid! What a disgusting idea!
An outsider who got lessons to tell right from left from Mr Jobs, would only destroy Apple.
If Mr Jobs has to be replaced, it has to be by an insider, someone that has got the Apple culture engraved.
Pretend CEOs that have no clue about their strategy, like Mr Schmidt or Mr Ballmer, cannot become Apple CEO just like that.
Two possibilities. First, analysts will say anything to try and momentarily drive Apples stock price down. Second, analysts are writing for an audience they desperately hope know even less than they do.
I guess there might be a third, Manikandan Raman is developing material for a Wall Street Comedy Club act.
shit off
I’m sure that Steve has left his short list of who he doesn’t want replacing him as CEO when the day comes when he has to step down permanently — he’s not going to be able to ride in on a white horse to save Apple’s bacon yet again. And it’s hoped that Apple’s directors have learned from past mistakes. The job’s Tim Cook’s if he wants it and as long as he does the job; they’re not going to bring in anyone from outside to gum up the works.
Eric Schmidt has lead Google pretty well!?
Google is a fucking disaster. Their list of failed projects is now a mile long. In terms of innovation and business ethics, they have become Microsoft Junior. Their entire mobile strategy is waiting to implode on itself. Their products are perpetually never ready for prime time. The search engine that made them famous becomes more unusable by the day.
They went from “do no evil” to “do lots of evil incompetently”.
You call that being run pretty well?
This is why we laugh at analysts.
And IF this nightmare of an idea were to come true, I’d get busy selling my AAPL shares immediately.
The “no obscenity rules” at Apple should prevent that from happening.
Hahahahahahaaha!!!!!
This guy should fired!