Analyst: Apple doesn’t need Steve Jobs anymore
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 - 09:10 AM EST "Apple doesn't need Steve Jobs, an analyst argued Monday," Gregg Keizer reports for Computerworld. "Early on Friday, Apple shares slid below $100 for the first time since May 2007 after a false report circulated that Apple's 53-year-old CEO had suffered a major heart attack. The report, posted on iReport.com, a 'citizen journalist' Web site operated by CNN, was quickly denied by Apple, but not before the share price had slid nearly 11%."Keizer reports, "The panic was unwarranted, said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research Inc. 'Apple doesn't need Jobs anymore,' Gottheil said. 'He's established three sound businesses — Mac, iPod and the iPhone — and the company knows how to execute his fanatical devotion to design and usability. There's a stable management team in place, and they know what they're doing.'"
Keizer reports, "Investors have been nervous about Jobs' health since last June, when he appeared gaunt at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference... They shouldn't be so worried, said Gottheil. 'Without Jobs, Apple would have to pay a lot more to get the world's attention,' he said, referring to the CEO's knack for promoting his company's products. 'But he's got a company and a brand and an organization and a strategy in place. There's no reason to think that those things can't be carried forward without him.'"
Keizer reports, "If Jobs stepped down, Tim Cook, currently chief operating officer, would run the company, Gottheil said. Cook ran Apple while Jobs out in 2004 after his cancer surgery. Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president for industrial design, would pick up the reins on product design."
More in the full article here.

Good Point. Apple will do well after Steve decides to go sip drinks with small umbrellas.