Steve Jobs taking medical leave of absence

Steve Jobs taking medical leave of absence

Story posted 2011.01.17 at 05:24 PM PST

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking another medical leave of absence to deal with his health problems. The announcement by Apple did not specify how long Jobs will be away, nor the nature of his medical condition. However, Jobs will retain his CEO title and will continue to provide guidance.

Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had surgery in 2004. In 2009, he took a six-month leave during which he received a liver transplant in Tennessee. Following the transplant, he made his first public appearance in September of 2009 to launch the iPad, Apple's tablet computer. Jobs has continued to look underweight and less energetic.

"Everybody is a little nervous about what happens when he finally steps away, and the fact that he's for the third time now since 2004 having to take a medical leave of absence got people neverous," technology analyst Tom Merritt said.

ABC News is reporting that Jobs may be undergoing chemotherapy or some other treatment during this newest medical leave. Chief operating officer Tim Cook will handle day-to-day operations.

Jobs is no ordinary CEO. He is widely considered the driving force behind Apple's technology and design innovation and its marketing efforts. He will be off-work during what promises to be a very busy year ahead when Apple is expected to release a new version of the iPad and iPhone.

He is not immortal, points out Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford. Pfeffer doesn't see evidence coming out of the highly secretive Apple that there is a clear line of succession. Most CEO's with life-threatening illnesses, Pfeffer says, would resign to allow new leadership to take the helm. Behind the scenes, Pfeffer says that Apple's board of directors should be working on a successor, but it also faces the delicate matter of wanting to be supportive of its CEO with a health issue.

"There is no question that competition is serious right now, and if I were an app developer, I would be looking really seriously at trying to make sure that I diversify my portfolio," Molly Wood, cnet.com executive editor said.

Investors will certainly signal whether they think Apple is the same company with Jobs out for an unspecified time when trading resumes tomorrow after the three-day holiday weekend. Apple's share price closed Friday at $348. It was about $190 a year ago. European markets reacted swiftly. In Germany, shares dropped almost eight percent, wiping out $25 billion in Apple's value

Story posted 2011.01.17 at 05:24 PM PST

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Víctor Lei