As
Apple Inc. has become the number one since the return of Steve Jobs in 1996
with successive launch of blockbuster products such as Mac book Air, I-Pod and
I-Phone, which have not only redefined the product category but challenged the
recession making Apple, become the second most valued company on the planet.
This has made Steve Jobs the darling of the customers and investors and his
health concerns have put question mark on succession of leadership. But since
the medical leave of Steve Jobs the company, Tim Cook has become an acting CEO
and that showcases that there is a plan for sustainable leadership at Apple
Inc. But there are other potential candidates, who also have proved their
mettle as part of success matrix at Apple Inc. and these include:
1. Craig
Federighi, senior vice president, software engineering responsible for
Operating system development for all Apple products (Mangalindan,P,J 2011)
2. Ron
Johnson, senior vice president, retail responsible of developing and launching
the Apple 300 retail across the globe (Mangalindan,P,J 2011)
3. Bob
Mansfield, senior vice president, Mac Hardware Engineering responsible for
developing MacBook Air and iMac and now incharge of iPod and iPhone
(Mangalindan,P,J 2011)
4. Scott
Forstall,senior vice president,in charge of iOS software and according to Cleve
Nettles"Forstall is the man if SJ(Steve Jobs) gets to pick (his
successor)" (Mangalindan,P,J 2011)
5. Peter
Oppenheimer, senior vice president, Chief Financial Officer responsible for
treasury, corporate development, human resources and reporting the latest
financials to analysts and media, weighing in on company performance and
offering guidance on where revenues and profits (Mangalindan,P,J 2011).
6. Bruce
Sewell, senior vice president, general counsel to defend the company and
preserving its intellectual property, whether it's a lost iPhone prototype or a
patent lawsuit (Mangalindan,P,J 2011).
7. Jeff
Williams, senior vice president, operations ,who reports to COO Tim Cook and is
largely responsible for managing the product parts supply chain and making sure
all products, from that new MacBook Air to the iPad 2, pass the company's
strict quality control standards(Mangalindan,P,J 2011).
8. Eddy
Cue, vice president, internet services manages iTunes and the App Store, two of
the company's most important properties, along with iBooks, Apple's e-books
foray. It's a far cry from his start with Apple in 1989, working as a junior
desktop support staffer (Mangalindan,P,J 2011).
9. Katie
Cotton ,vice president, worldwide corporate communications ,who is a
gatekeeper to Steve Jobs and manages, the media for anything Jobs-related --
interviews, questions about his health -- and it's Cotton again who contributes
to product launches and reportedly, the upkeep of Apple and its CEO's
appealing, yet enigmatic image, making her one of the most powerful women in
Silicon Valley(Mangalindan,P,J 2011).
10. Dr.
Guy (Bud) Tribble, vice president, software Tech, a veteran who led the development
of the operating system for the first Macintosh in the early 1980s and
currently defining the software engineering group's technical direction, but
insiders also single him out as the company's unofficial CTO(Mangalindan,P,J
2011).
11. Greg
Joswiak, vice president, marketing manages promotion of the iPhone and iPod,
but he also plays an active role in their development, working with the
company's engineering teams to design the next wave of devices, down to
features and price (Mangalindan,P,J 2011).
Apple’s challenge might be also to find a leader
from outside, who would be charismatic and visionary like Steve Jobs or from
the current management pool.