“Back in 2011, when Steve Jobs was very ill, there were persistent questions about Apple’s CEO succession plan,” John Martellaro writes for TheStreet. “The most bizarre names were put forth by journalists, including those who had no experience as a corporate executive officer. But the only real candidate all along was Tim Cook, a man Mr. Jobs had great confidence in.”
“Now that Mr. Cook, who is 53 years old, is the CEO, the worries about Apple leadership are over — for the time being,” Martellaro writes. “However, corporate succession plans must still be written. Heaven forbid that Mr. Cook, in good health, should become seriously ill or get hit by a bus. So there should be, and certainly is, a new plan.”
“Hubris can make any executive believe that he or she will preside forever, but the fact is, it’s wise to identify and develop young people, now in their mid 30s and 40s, to someday take over the leadership of Apple,” Martellaro writes. “And it shouldn’t be too private an affair. Part of coping with competition and the increasing age gap between Apple executives and young customers means a willing, benign, responsible effort to, in a semi-public way, celebrate those who will, in just a few years, take over the reigns of Apple, if for no other reason than to season them and let the world size them up. That time will be here sooner than we think.”
Read more in the full article here.