Apple announced in a memo just a bit ago that former CEO and Apple Chairman of the Board, Steve Jobs, has died of Cancer at age 56. While Apple did not specify a cause of death in their memo, Jobs was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer in 2004. He had surgery then, apparently clearing out all of the cancerous cells at the time. However, he was once again diagnosed with Cancer in 2009 and had a liver transplant that year. He was out for a good bit of time in that year, turning over the reigns of the company to current CEO Tim Cook. After a return to the company, Steve abruptly announced his immediate retirement as CEO of Apple, Inc in August 2011.
Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computer, Inc. with Steve Wozniak in 1976 and helped build the company into a multi-billion dollar company, introducing the Macintosh in 1984 to great fanfare. Then in 1985, a well publicized battle with then CEO, John Sculley resulted in Steve Jobs being fired. Steve Jobs then started NeXT which really was a computer and operating system that was more attuned to developers but showed glimpses of the direction Steve was going in his mind and what he saw as a real computing platform.
In 1997, with sales of NeXT lagging, Steve sold the company to Apple Computer, Inc. putting Steve back into a management position with Apple, Inc. Steve once again moved into the controlling position of the company when then CEO Gil Amelio was fired. Steve then applied his ideas and methods to Apple, taking it from an also ran in the computing world, to the point where it a globally leading company.
The passing of Steve Jobs also reflected in the way Apple, Inc. updated their website this morning, doing away with the customary glitz for a simple photo of Steve Jobs
Current CEO Tim Cook sent out the following late Wednesday to all Apple employees:
Team,
I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing
human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.
Tim
People around the world are now calling Steve jobs by many honorifics and in glowing terms, but most of the time during his lifetime, Steve has been called harsh, driven, a marketing genius and many other terms which more aptly described the tough nosed businessman. The one that fits the most is master marketer as he always made sure his products were earth shattering and ground breaking. The way in which he introduced those products to the world was revolutionary and is the stuff of legends. While there were many who hated Steve, even his most arduous and hardened long time rival, Bill Gates chimed in on the condolences, saying “I will miss Steve immensely.”
What ever one calls Steve, one must always remember the products that he introduced including Macintosh, Next, iPod, iPhone, and iPad always changed the way that we looked at the computing world. His success with was not just with Apple but also with Pixar where Steve is known to have spent more than 60 million dollars of his own money to insure that success. What is most amazing is that during his time as CEO of Apple, share prices rose from a mere $6 per share to well over $400 per share, making Apple the most valuable company in the world.
We here at A.P.P.L.E. greatly appreciate his contributions to our computing life, and want to say Rest in Peace Steve Jobs. We will all miss your drive and innovation.
