一個時代的終結：蘋果CEO喬布斯辭職
Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.
“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”
“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”
Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.
As COO, Cook was previously responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.相關中文新聞：
新浪科技訊 北京時間8月25日早間消息，蘋果董事會今天宣佈，蘋果CEO史蒂夫·喬布斯(Steve Jobs)辭職，董事會已任命前蘋果COO蒂姆·庫克(Tim Cook)接任蘋果CEO一職。喬布斯被選爲董事會主席，庫克將加入董事會，立即生效。
喬布斯今天向蘋果董事會遞交了辭呈，並強烈推薦前蘋果COO蒂姆·庫克(Tim Cook)接任蘋果CEO一職。
今年1月，喬布斯再度宣佈病休。這位56歲的蘋果掌門人在病休期間仍然擔任CEO，積極參與公司業務和各項活動。此後，他將公司日常運營交由COO蒂姆·庫克(Tim Cook)處理。
喬布斯的病休曾一度導致蘋果股價暴跌，投資者認爲此舉增添了蘋果未來前景的不確定性。不過此後，喬布斯並未從公衆視線中消失。他不僅前去蘋果總部工作，還出席了美國總統奧巴馬舉行的硅谷宴會，並主持了iPad 2發佈會和蘋果2011年全球開發者大會。
庫克今年50歲，在喬布斯離開期間通常由他負責公司運營。熟悉蘋果日常運營的人士稱，與其他資深高管一樣，庫克理解喬布斯的想法，並設定了未來幾年間的產品路線圖。
新任CEO將不得不肩負起喬布斯目前承擔的責任，如高管退休問題。由於蘋果股價在過去5年間上漲近7倍，許多高管已成富豪，有可能選擇離職變現，如何維持團隊的完整性是CEO面臨的一大難題。從去年11月至今，蘋果零售主管羅 恩·約翰遜(Ron Johnson)、營銷傳播副總裁埃裏森·約翰遜(Allison Johnson)和Mac軟件工程主管伯特蘭德·塞萊特(Bertrand Serlet)先後離職。
