When do you think Steve Jobs will step down?

[LoveMacMini]

He isn't getting any younger, his ego is getting a little too large to enjoy watching him speak anymore, and frankly I want to see some new blood already.

I don't think he'll be apart of Apple anymore in the new decade, 2010.

What do you guys think?

He was born in 1955, so that makes him 51

 

[_Matt]

He isn't getting any younger, his ego is getting a little too large to enjoy watching him speak anymore, and frankly I want to see some new blood already.

I don't think he'll be apart of Apple anymore in the new decade, 2010.

What do you guys think?

He was born in 1955, so that makes him 51

You think his ego has gotten larger? If anything, I thought I was seeing his ego getting much smaller, especially with the introduction of new faces to present Leopard and Schiller introducing the Mac Pro at the keynote. I believe that the three new speakers are the fresh blood you're looking for. Not exactly fresh blood either. As long as Steve is well, I predict he will continue to run Apple for quite some time as well as continue his work at Disney. However, it is clear that he is stepping farther and farther away from the public eye in order to ensure Apple's success without him should he leave in the near future.

 

[opik]

i hope not anytime soon...apple has only flourished since his return but he will probably leave sooner or later seeing as Bill Gates is planning on leaving June 2008.

 

[seabass069]

I think will Steve will move on very soon. He is looking ill. I don't remember the guys name that introduced Leopard, but he is alot like Steve. I think he will take over very soon. The guy that introduced the Mac Pro was terrible. His timing on the presentations was bad. It's like he designed the presentation an hour before giving his speech.

 

[_Matt]

I think will Steve will move on very soon. He is looking ill. I don't remember the guys name that introduced Leopard, but he is alot like Steve. I think he will take over very soon. The guy that introduced the Mac Pro was terrible. His timing on the presentations was bad. It's like he designed the presentation an hour before giving his speech.

When you say the guy that introduced Leopard...do you mean the one with the French accent?

 

[LoveMacMini]

When you say the guy that introduced Leopard...do you mean the one with the French accent?

no the guy who showed off time machine

 

[_Matt]

no the guy who showed off time machine

Ah. Forstall or something like that. VP of platform experience. I doubt he will be Steve's successor. Sadly, we will just have to deal with Schiller if another executive from a different company doesn't step in out of the blue.

I can see it now... an exact repeat of the "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of you life, or do you want to make a difference?" dilemma.

 

[7on]

Ah. Forstall or something like that. VP of platform experience. I doubt he will be Steve's successor. Sadly, we will just have to deal with Schiller if another executive from a different company doesn't step in out of the blue.

I can see it now... an exact repeat of the "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of you life, or do you want to make a difference?" dilemma.

I liked Scott Forstall.

 

[_Matt]

I liked Scott Forstall.

I liked him too. Very much. But I think he is too young to be the face of Apple. Perhaps he will become SVP of Worldwide Marketing if Schiller takes Steve's place.

 

[clayj]

What about Jonathan Ive as a successor?

 

[Chaszmyr]

On Steve Jobs ego:
Steve has always been an ego maniac, but I think he's improving as he gets older

On Jonathan Ive:
I don't know if Ive has what it takes to run a company or not, but he would certainly make a much better public figure than Schiller to succeed Steve Jobs. However, Jobs probably realizes this, and the fact that Ive is still not being used as a public figure indicates that he probably prefers to stay out of the limelight.

On Phil Schiller:
Schiller seems like a very nice guy, and I don't know how he is as a business man, but I'm guessing quite good. However, he just doesn't have what it takes to replace Jobs as a public figure. I'm hoping we have Jobs for at least a few more years, and I'd like to see someone who wasn't on the stage at WWDC be the new face of Apple.

 

[jellybean]

He was born in 1955, so that makes him 51

...so? Look at Aerosmith, they're pushing 60 but still touring and releasing records.

51 is nothing. If his passion for what he does is still there and his health permits him then that's all he needs to keep driving Apple into the future.

 

[VanNess]

He isn't getting any younger, his ego is getting a little too large to enjoy watching him speak anymore, and frankly I want to see some new blood already.

Given his rather lengthly list of accomplishments since he returned to Apple, and his knack for continuously adding to that list, and the fact that he perennially winds up at the top of "most admired CEO's" in industry surveys, and the fact that Apple, today, is far and away more successful than anytime in it's history (and beyond anyone's wildest dreams), I don't think any reasonable person on the face of this earth would want to see "some new blood" running the company "before the end of the decade."

If you personally don't like Jobs or his "personality," well, actually that's quite transparent and I certainly do feel your pain. That's really too bad. Here's what you can do: deal with it. If you don't like his keynotes, then don't watch. If you don't like his ego, then don't listen. None of that is required in order for you to buy and use Apple's products, or any other company's products.

But if you seriously think that Jobs needs to be replaced, you're laughably off the mark.

 

[_Matt]

I changed my mind about the whole Steve succession thing.

Who will replace Steven P Jobs after he relinquishes control of Apple Computers?

BONO​

 

[drumpat01]

I would love to see Ives take over. I think he has a great personality and the exact kind of vision Steve Jobs has. Unfortunately, it does seem that Ives kinda hates the spotlight (no pun intended) so he probably wont take over. But I do hope he gets moved up to maybe a VP spot. The young guy who introduced Time Machine did a pretty good job but I think he is VERY young to control a company as large as Apple has become since 1997. Who ever it is, I dont think any of us are going to be happy because he wont be Steve. And lets face it, Nobody can ever REALLY replace Steve Jobs.

 

[kristiano]

But I do hope he gets moved up to maybe a VP spot.

Johnny iPod is already SVP of Industrial Design at Apple Computer...

 

[woodsie]

the young kid in the black shirt who showed Time Machine I thought did a good job.

the fat guy was boring and the french dude was too hard to understand.

 

[Chaszmyr]

the young kid in the black shirt who showed Time Machine I thought did a good job.

He did a fine job... not a great job, but a fine job. Doing a fine job on a presentation doesn't qualify you to run a company, though. (I'm not saying he isn't qualified, but we have no reason to believe that he is)

 

[Cooknn]

He did a fine job... not a great job, but a fine job. Doing a fine job on a presentation doesn't qualify you to run a company, though. (I'm not saying he isn't qualified, but we have no reason to believe that he is)

He handled the iPhoto issue with grace. Tried force quit a couple of times - then fired up the backup box like it was no big deal. I think Schiller would run the company, but Forstall just might be the one to take the stage for product announcements in the future - with Phil close by via iChat

 

[Caitlyn]

I really liked Scott. He is a sort of people person. I could see him doing Keynote speeches in the future. The french guy was kind of annoying because every word I had to think about so that I could understand him. Bertron, yes?

 

[Benjamindaines]

You think his ego has gotten larger? If anything, I thought I was seeing his ego getting much smaller, especially with the introduction of new faces to present Leopard and Schiller introducing the Mac Pro at the keynote.

Schiller had a part in introducing the MacBook Pro and iBook too. So that's not a first.

 

[dansgil]

I find Shiller to be a very dull speaker, I hope he doesn't do many more keynotes in the future.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I find Shiller to be a very dull speaker, I hope he doesn't do many more keynotes in the future.

So is Bill Gates, but it's never hurt him.

Steve has been the public face of Apple for so long, it will be difficult to accept anyone else in the role. He's a tough act to follow, but someone will have to do it. I personally suspect that the next Apple CEO will not have such a public persona. They may even choose someone else in the company to make product announcements and presentations. No rule that it has to be the CEO.

 

[combatcolin]

Hasn't the Jobs got his own Learjet?

In that case steps would be provided.

 

[ReanimationLP]

I dont think hes gonna step down for at least another 10 years or so personally.