Apple refuses to reveal Steve Jobs’ successor

THE SHAREHOLDERS of Apple have voted that fanbois around the world should be kept in the dark about the cappuccino company's succession plan once Steve Jobs leaves the CEO job.

Jobs has stepped down from running the fruit-themed flogger of shiny toys on a day-to-day basis for health reasons, though he is said to remain involved in strategic planning, but doubts have arisen about his future role and ability to captain the ship. A proposal for Apple to disclose a succession plan was rejected by shareholders, with the firm's reluctance to disclose the results leading to speculation that the vote might have been pretty close, according to Reuters.

The man in charge for now, Tim Cook, has had experience running the company in the past and it does look like he is the obvious successor. However Steve Jobs will be very difficult for anyone to replace.

It is a critical time for the company, thanks largely to the rise of Google's Android in the smartphone market. Apple has important devices to release in the next few months, such as the Ipad 2 at the beginning of March and later the Iphone 5.

Google has revealed that Larry Page will take charge of the company in April, while Apple's silence on the matter of succession just raises speculation that it doesn't know what it's doing. That's probably not the case, but the company's lack of transparency doesn't inspire confidence.

Whoever takes charge will have to keep Apple moving and innovating, because Google will be there looking for the upper hand. µ