An outsider’s view of Apple’s succession plan

“On Aug. 24, Apple, Inc. announced that Steve Jobs, its iconic co-founder, was resigning from his CEO role and assuming the chairmanship,” Robin Ferracone writes for Forbes. “Tim Cook, Apple’s head of operations, would become the new CEO. Investors took the news in stride, with a slight dip in stock price followed by a rebound.”

“For those of us who think that this change might have been done in haste at a time when Apple’s hand was forced due to Jobs’ health, think again,” Ferracone writes. “To gain insight into Apple’s succession process, my firm, Farient Advisors, analyzed Apple’s history since it went public in 1980, and plotted the company’s market capitalization, certain noteworthy events, and of course, occupants of the top jobs.”

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Ferracone writes, “One of Jobs’ first acts as CEO was to hire Tim Cook as chief of Apple’s worldwide operations, setting the stage for the company’s spectacular turnaround… Many also are asking whether Jobs can really be replaced. The answer is, ‘Of course not.’ He is one of a kind. But the better question is, ‘Does the current company, with $100 billion revenue, really need the same leadership as the company that grew from $10 billion to $100 billion?’ And once again, the answer is, ‘Of course not.'”

Read more in the full article here.
 

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]