Ars Technica this morning published an email sent to Apple employees by Tim Cook, the company’s new chief executive, following the decision by Steve Jobs to step down from the position.
“I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change,” he writes. See the Ars Technica post for the full message, including Cook’s reflections on working with Jobs.
To get a better sense for Cook as a person, and the challenge he faces now, see this New York Times piece from January of this year, when Jobs took an extended leave of absence. It reads, in part …
While Mr. Jobs is mercurial and prone to outbursts, Mr. Cook, who was raised in a small town in Alabama, is polite and soft-spoken. He is often described as a “Southern gentleman.” While Mr. Jobs obsesses over every last detail of Apple’s products, Mr. Cook obsesses over the less glamorous minutiae of Apple’s operations.
Their complementary skills have helped Apple pull off the most remarkable turnaround in American business, and made it the world’s most valuable technology company. When Mr. Cook is on his own, he will have to compensate for the absence of Mr. Jobs — and his inventiveness, charisma and uncanny ability to predict the future of technology and anticipate the wishes of consumers.
Also see this Wired News roundup today: Why Tim Cook is the Best Choice to run Apple.
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