And The Bitten Apple Goes To….

Being back from a short vacation, where I decided to lose any connection with the internet and technology world, and even with friends, I was stunned by the shocking news- Steve Jobs has resigned!

I was not even surprised when I heard that it was Mr. Cook who Steve "strongly recommended" as his successor… Despite the impressive resume and working experience, and regardless a B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University and his M.B.A. from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (while Steve has even not graduated from college), I still suspect that Tim (or anyone) will do so much good to Apple, as Steve did and would have been done (if he had not resigned). Anyway, it’s good to know that Cook served as Apple CEO for two months in 2004, when Jobs was recovering from pancreatic cancer surgery and again in 2009, while Jobs took a leave of absence for a liver transplant. Tim knew the odds were in his favor as he was the one who could be a worthy replacement for Steve…

The common sense expectations are positive, but history suggests it will not be a smooth ride… If we look back and recall the stories of successful companies shortly after their CEOs had resigned, we'll see that Disney got in trouble for hewing too adjacent to its founder's vision, Wal-Mart was faulted now for swinging too far from its founder's strategy, and Sony Corp. lost its market leadership in electronics after charismatic founder Akio Morita stepped down as chairman…. So let’s see what happens and hope that Apple goes the other way, grows strong and remains as innovative, as it has been since its foundation… 

And The Bitten Apple Goes To… Tim Cook!