Job-less Apple will be Just Fine

In case you live under a rock, Steve Jobs tendered his resignation from Apple last night. Immediately after, he took over Twitter as a trending topic Apple stocks fell 7% in dramatic fashion in just a couple of hours (which would have been a lot worse had the market actually been open when he officially resigned). But what does Steve Jobs leaving mean for Apple, long term?

Since 1997, it’s been pretty unavoidable to talk about Steve Jobs whenever Apple is brought up.  He brought Apple the title of “world’s most valuable company”, and under him Apple stocks have steadily risen. He has always been extremely involved in the company, along with being its representative, spokesperson, and most recognizable face. When Jobs leaves, Apple stocks tend to suffer and then slowly come back up as investors are reassured of Apple’s competency. The man is going to be made into a comic book hero. Apple is nothing without him, right?

Probably not. Apple’s COO, Tim Cook, will be taking over as CEO, as has been the plan for some time now. While Cook himself has admitted that no one can replace Jobs, Cook has been groomed for the position. And Cook has been in charge of the day-to-day at Apple for several years now, and has taken over as temporary CEO a few times, due to Jobs’ health problems. With Cook in charge in 2004, Apple stock rose 62 percent, earning Cook the promotion from Executive VP to COO.

Cook is fairly familiar with all aspects of the CEO position, and Jobs has made sure Apple is ready and able to run without him. Not that they’ll really have to, since he’s going to be Chairman of the Board.  Steve Jobs may have resigned as CEO, but he’s not completely out of the picture, and he’ll still surely be contributing innovative ideas.

Many people believe Steve Jobs is Apple. He’s a huge contributor and Apple is great with him, but there are several key people still in the mix. As research analyst Shannon Cross put it, “The bench at Apple is extremely strong. He has a good group of executives behind him.”

Jonathon Ives will continue to design Apple products in the sleek and stylish way we’re accustomed to, Scott Forstall will oversee strong software releases, and, Tim Cook will likely have a smooth transition to CEO. While no one can replace Steve Jobs, Tim Cook has proven himself a strong successor.

What do you think? Can Apple survive without Steve Jobs? Tell us in the comments.