Unfortunately, that day has come

Ste­ve Jobs schreibt:

To the Apple Board of Direc­tors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if the­re ever came a day when I could no lon­ger meet my duties and expec­ta­ti­ons as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfort­u­na­te­ly, that day has come.

I her­eby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to ser­ve, if the Board sees fit, as Chair­man of the Board, direc­tor and Apple employee.

As far as my suc­ces­sor goes, I stron­gly recom­mend that we exe­cu­te our suc­ces­si­on plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I belie­ve Apple’s brigh­test and most inno­va­ti­ve days are ahead of it. And I look for­ward to wat­ching and con­tri­bu­ting to its suc­cess in a new role. 

I have made some of the best fri­ends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work along­side you.

Ste­ve

Tim Cook schreibt:

Team:

I am loo­king for­ward to the ama­zing oppor­tu­ni­ty of ser­ving as CEO of the most inno­va­ti­ve com­pa­ny in the world. Joi­ning Apple was the best decis­i­on I’ve ever made and it’s been the pri­vi­le­ge of a life­time to work for Apple and Ste­ve for over 13 years. I share Steve’s opti­mism for Apple’s bright future.

Ste­ve has been an incre­di­ble lea­der and men­tor to me, as well as to the enti­re exe­cu­ti­ve team and our ama­zing employees. We are real­ly loo­king for­ward to Steve’s ongo­ing gui­dance and inspi­ra­ti­on as our Chairman.

I want you to be con­fi­dent that Apple is not going to chan­ge. I che­rish and cele­bra­te Apple’s uni­que prin­ci­ples and values. Ste­ve built a com­pa­ny and cul­tu­re that is unli­ke any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to con­ti­nue to make the best pro­ducts in the world that delight our cus­to­mers and make our employees incre­di­bly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am loo­king for­ward to diving into my new role. All of the incre­di­ble sup­port from the Board, the exe­cu­ti­ve team and many of you has been inspi­ring. I am con­fi­dent our best years lie ahead of us and that tog­e­ther we will con­ti­nue to make Apple the magi­cal place that it is.

Tim