Apple
CEO Steve Jobs announced Jan. 17 in an e-mail
to Apple employees that he’ll be taking another medical leave of absence to
focus on his health.
Jobs
didn’t offer any details about his health, or how long he plans to be on his
board-sanctioned leave, but he wrote that he’ll continue to act as CEO
and be involved in "major strategic decisions for the company."
During his absence, however, COO Tim Cook
will be responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations.
"I
have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team
will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011,"
Jobs wrote. "I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can."
Almost
exactly two years ago, Jobs, who in 2004 successfully battled pancreatic
cancer, sent
a similar letter to the "Apple community," saying that his weight
loss and poor health in 2008 were due to a "hormone imbalance."
However, a few days later, on Jan. 14, 2009, Jobs sent out a second letter saying that
his health issues were "more complex than I originally thought." He
added that curiosity over his failing health was a distraction to him and his
family, as well as to everyone at Apple, and so he planned to take himself "out
of the limelight" to focus on his health, and "allow everyone at
Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products."
In
the second letter—during which Cook was likewise put in charge of operations—Jobs
said that he’d be back at the end of June. After his return, it was revealed
that in April he’d received a liver transplant in Tennessee,
a state where the wait time for an organ transplant is far shorter than in Jobs’
home state of California.
For more, read the eWeek article: Apple CEO Steve Jobs to Take Open-Ended Medical Leave.