In a shocking announcement on Wednesday, Apple Inc. announced that Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Steve Jobs has resigned, effective immediately.
Jobs submitted his resignation to Apple’s board on Wednesday, the company said in a statement. The board named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, CEO, in part due to Job’s recommendation of Cook in his resignation letter.
In the statement, Art Levinson, chairman of Genentech, credited Jobs for his “vision” and “leadership” over the years, adding that Jobs “saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company.” Levinson released the statement on behalf of Apple’s board.
He added: “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”
In January Jobs, 55, said he was taking an indefinite medical leave for the second time in two years. In recent years Jobs survived a fight with pancreatic cancer and underwent a liver transplant. He also announced at the time that he would hand over day-to-day operations to Cook.
Although Jobs was struggling with his health, the trendy computer company continued to show strong iPhone and iPad sales. In July, the company announced sales of the popular devices were higher than expected, helping the tech company earn a net profit of $7.3 billion and quarterly revenue of $28.57 billion–-both are records for Apple. The company sold 20.34 million iPhones in the third quarter, a 142 percent growth from the same time last year.
“Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall,” Jobs said at the time.
