As you may have already heard Apple announced the other day that Steve Jobs will be taking a leave of absence from his CEO position while he battles health problems. First and foremost, I feel sorry for Steve Jobs and wish him good luck with his health problems. The man is a great leader and innovator and it’s a shame that he has had to step down on these unfortunate terms. Hopefully Steve will beat his health problems and be back at the helm of Apple in a few months.
The problem I have with this whole situation is the way Apple has handled releasing information on Jobs’ health. Typically, a person has no obligation to release information about his or her health as it is private information. However, Steve Jobs isn’t a typical person. As the CEO of a publicly traded multibillion dollar company, thousands of employees and investors depend on Jobs to lead Apple. Publicly traded companies have a fiduciary obligation to notify shareholders about any “material” information that could affect the business. (This wouldn’t be the case if Apple was a private company)
What irks me about how Apple handled this is the way they went about informing investors about Jobs health problems. When Jobs appeared noticeably thin they said his health was a private matter. Then Jobs appeared on stage and joked about his health conditions claiming, “The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated”. Last week the company released a letter saying that Jobs had a manageable hormone imbalance and he would remain CEO. Finally on Wednesday Jobs released the letter announcing his leave of absence due to his health problem.
In my opinion Apple should have handled this differently. They should have been more up front with investors from the beginning. Instead they exposed the company to rumors and possible lawsuits by disgruntle shareholders. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s all say a prayer for Steve Jobs.
Apple Needs A Lesson On Corporate Governance
The problem I have with this whole situation is the way Apple has handled releasing information on Jobs’ health. Typically, a person has no obligation to release information about his or her health as it is private information. However, Steve Jobs isn’t a typical person. As the CEO of a publicly traded multibillion dollar company, thousands of employees and investors depend on Jobs to lead Apple. Publicly traded companies have a fiduciary obligation to notify shareholders about any “material” information that could affect the business. (This wouldn’t be the case if Apple was a private company)
What irks me about how Apple handled this is the way they went about informing investors about Jobs health problems. When Jobs appeared noticeably thin they said his health was a private matter. Then Jobs appeared on stage and joked about his health conditions claiming, “The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated”. Last week the company released a letter saying that Jobs had a manageable hormone imbalance and he would remain CEO. Finally on Wednesday Jobs released the letter announcing his leave of absence due to his health problem.
In my opinion Apple should have handled this differently. They should have been more up front with investors from the beginning. Instead they exposed the company to rumors and possible lawsuits by disgruntle shareholders. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s all say a prayer for Steve Jobs.