“In one of the most curious vanishing acts in American corporate history, Apple CEO Steve Jobs remains on what is now the longest of his three medical leaves, popping up in public on the rare occasion, reportedly keeping an opaque remote control over major decisions but also prompting questions as Apple keeps its trademark veil of secrecy drawn tight over its iconic leader’s status,” Patrick May reports for The Mercury News.
“It’s now been more than six months since Jobs, often considered not only the face but also the heart and soul of Apple, has been gone,” May reports. “Yet he’s not really gone at all, though by one account he’s less involved in micromanaging every aspect of the business.”
May reports, “‘I don’t think you can draw too much from the length of the absence,’ said analyst Tim Bajarin with Creative Strategies. ‘We saw him at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and to me he looked the same as he did in March when he introduced the iPad 2. I think the process he’s going through is recuperative, which means he probably needs to be more at home and less physically active. But I don’t believe that’s diminished his role in any way. They tell me he calls in regularly. He talks to Tim, he talks to the top guys, he talks about the Apple stores. But while he used to micromanage everything in ways that most CEOs would not, right down to issues with the company cafeteria, the big change with his latest leave is that there’s less micromanagement and more management of his executive team and the big-picture issues.'”
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