Is Apple’s Leadership Change in Progress?
December 23rd, 2008So here’s the deal: Whenever Steve Jobs doesn’t emerge from his office or subterranean hiding place for a few weeks, the rumors about his health begin anew. Certainly his expected lack of visibility at the forthcoming Macworld Expo, where marketing VP Philip Schiller is slated to deliver the keynote, fuels the speculative files still further. Only the announcement that Apple would pull out of the Expo altogether diffused the issue, since it came at the same time and inspired its own level of serious online chatter.
When it comes to the health of a CEO, a company’s board does have the responsibility to inform stockholders when that person is unable to perform their assigned duties. Even a reduced work schedule is sufficient to require some sort of public confirmation.
Apple’s habitual secrecy about Jobs is all the more troubling in that environment. Even if not exactly true, surely they could put a spin on the situation that would satisfy most people and shut down the rumor mills before things get out of hand.
