Today in History: Steve Jobs resigns
On this day, four years ago, the visionary man who founded Apple Inc. said that he could no longer serve as the CEO of his company and handed the reins to the COO Tim Cook.
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Steve Jobs was the genius behind the rise of what today is the company with the biggest revenue in the world, which he led from a small project in a garage to the firm that brought you the Macbook, the iPhone, the iPod, the iPad, and many other incredible products. On August 24, 2011, Jobs wrote a letter to the board of directors giving the news that he would step down. This is the content of the letter:
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
The news came as an abrupt change in the company's leading members and it left many people shaken since Jobs was an extremely charismatic individual who developed a cult-like following both internally and externally to the company, creating a unique culture and groundbreaking innovations.
Here is a visual history of Apple products since the foundation of the company:
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