Filling Steve Jobs' Shoes: Medical Leave Renews Worries

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has once again taken medical leave from the company, driving down its share prices in European markets.

Financial markets in the U.S. are closed in observation of Martin Luther King day, and Apple's stock prices might take a bigger hit when U.S. markets reopen Tuesday, Brian Marshall, an analyst at Gleacher & Company, told MacNewsWorld.

In an email sent to all Apple employees, Jobs said he asked chief operations officer Tim Cook to handle the company's day-to-day operations.

He expressed confidence that Cook and the rest of the executive management team would execute Apple's plans for 2011 well.

Speculation About Steve

"I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can," Jobs' email ended. "In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."

It's the wording of the note that worries Gleacher's Marshall.

"The fact that he uses the word 'hope' in referring to his return raises the possibility that he may not return at all," Marshall pointed out. "It's terrible news for Steve and his family, and I feel for them."

As always, Apple is remaining tight-lipped about just what health problems Jobs is facing.

In his message to Apple employees, Jobs only said he was granted a medical leave of absence so he can focus on his health.

Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling did not respond to MacNewsWorld's requests for comment by press time.

Impact on the Market

Jobs said he would continue to act as CEO while on medical leave, but that may not calm down market jitters.

"We see Apple trading is down in Europe 7 percent or so, but that's light," Gleacher's Marshall said.

"We'll have more of an adverse reaction here when markets open in the U.S. From the market reaction, it's going to be pretty scary, because Apple remains a large position for many people and this creates a level of uncertainty," he added.

Perhaps the reaction is the result of Jobs' rock star-like status.

"Which other large company's CEO do you know who's such an iconic, almost cult-like figure?" asked Will Stofega, a program director at IDC.

"While no one is indispensable, Jobs is as close to being so for Apple as a person could be," Laura DiDio, principal at ITIC, told MacNewsWorld.

That perceived indispensability and fears about Jobs' health may be what sparked a request from the Central Laborers' Pension Fund earlier this month that Apple review a succession plan annually and share it with investors, develop internal candidates, begin non-emergency succession planning at least three years before an expected transition, and maintain an emergency strategy.

Apple has reportedly recommended that investors vote against the Central Laborers'' Pension Fund proposal because a public succession plan would reveal confidential business strategies to competitors. It also said it has succession plans in place.

"I can understand why people would want to know Apple's succession plans, but plans like this are strategic to a business," IDC's Stofega told MacNewsWorld.

"Also, if you publish them, it limits your choice, and might give rise to other issues," he elaborated.

Succeeding Steve

Some companies in the know may have heard whispers about Jobs' health. That's one possible explanation for the Laborers' Pension Fund's demands that Apple work on a succession plan.

Further, Apple reached out to Blackstone Group CFO Laurence Tosi to come on board as its chief financial officer but was turned down, Bloomberg reported.

Apple denied the story.

In any event, there was already some uncertainty about events at Apple, although that didn't stop its share prices hitting a new high -- US$348.48 -- on Friday.

Fears about Apple's leadership may be unfounded, Carl Howe, director, anywhere consumer research at the Yankee Group, told MacNewsWorld.

Apple COO Tim Cook has run the company previously when Jobs was away on medical leave.

"Apple stopped being a one-man show years ago," Howe observed.

"They may need someone to step up their game to become the main presenter, but I wouldn't think of that as a replacement for Jobs. Apple's leadership team -- Tim Cook in operations, Peter Oppenheimer in finance, Jonathan Ive in design and Phil Schiller in marketing -- have been together for most of a decade," he pointed out.

"Jobs' illness, which is nothing new, has actually been a blessing in disguise, I think," ITIC's DiDio pointed out. "It forced the Apple board of directors, the company's executive and management teams, and Jobs himself to confront and deal with the worst-case scenario with respect to Jobs' health three or four years ago."