It was announced yesterday, by way of company email that Steve Jobs would be taking a five month leave of absence to deal with health concerns. It’s being reported that Jobs’ second bout with health problems has stemmed from food absorption problems, which doesn’t sound pleasant.
Here’s the company e-mail that Jobs’ sent out about his medical status:
Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.
So, what does this all mean for Apple? First, you can expect to see Apple stock fall by the wayside for a short period of time. Second, we’ll more than likely be seeing Tim Cook the COO of Apple take over Jobs’ responsibilities. The rest is pretty much left to wild speculation.
I personally believe that Jobs will be back sooner than anticipated. The reason being is that Jobs hasn’t said anything about leaving for good, or turning over the reins to someone else. I’m not a medical expert so I can’t tell you how long ‘food absorption’ problems last, but five months sound like a “worst-case” scenario timeline.
What are your thoughts on the Steve Jobs’ medical leave? Is it really just the five months, or perhaps the sign of things to come? With the little information we have on Tim Cook, what are your thoughts about him watching things while Steve is gone?