Wall Street Journal Publishes Story on Apple CEO Succession

Yukari Iwatani Kane, Joann S. Lublin, and Nick Wingfield, reporting for the WSJ:

Since Steve Jobs went on medical leave this winter, some members of Apple Inc.’s board have discussed CEO succession with executive recruiters and at least one head of a high-profile technology company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The conversations weren’t explicitly aimed at recruiting a new chief executive and were more of an informal exploration of the company’s options, said these people. The directors don’t appear to have been acting on behalf of the full board, some of these people said. Apple has seven directors, including Mr. Jobs.

It is also unclear whether Mr. Jobs was aware. In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal about the discussions, Mr. Jobs said Monday in an email, “I think it’s hogwash.”

To say that the timing of this story — published 24 minutes before Apple announces its quarterly results — is suspicious is an understatement.

Bringing in an outsider to replace Jobs would be catastrophic. If Jobs steps down any time soon, his successor will be, or at least should be, Tim Cook. The only other names that make sense are all on this page — and none of them are in the middle row.

★ Tuesday, 19 July 2011