Apple shareholders want a CEO succession plan

SHINY TOY MAKER Apple's shareholders are asking the firm to reassure them that it has a succession plan in place for the day Steve Jobs, um, retires to live on a farm in the country.

In a meeting set to take place today, the shareholders will ask the firm to finalise decisions on a new executive board. It will also recommend a few likely CEO candidates and insert a new element into Apple's corporate governance guidelines.

That new element, which is described only as a proposal in the Apple document, will be to "Adopt and disclose a written CEO succession policy" and "Adopt a majority voting standard for director elections".

Apple does not have to accept these proposals, of course, and might be reluctant to spell out its succession plans for reasons known only to itself, its lawyers and accountants.

There is already quite a strong clue as to where the board would like to see the debate end, and it can be found in the big 'AGAINST' mark it places in its advice on how people should be voting on both of the proposals.

Jobs stepped aside for health reasons in January and asked that people respect his and his family's privacy, which it seems was all the National Enquirer needed to scream that he had "six weeks to live" all over its front cover.

Apple has not commented on the current state of its CEO's health, but some word is likely to come out of the shareholder event. µ