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Whether the iPad 2 crushes its pack of competitors or not, Apple has done it again: we’re on tenterhooks to see whether Steve Jobs will strut on the stage. It’s Cupertino’s version of a late Groundhog Day, and while the fanboys taste fingernail, the wise know it’s not Jobs we should be looking for. His cult of personality may be unrivalled in technology business, but there’s more than one seed in the fruit.
A more important question is: who else will be on stage, with or without Jobs? I raised this question today on Fox 25 Morning News. Apple’s ability to amaze with launch after launch of category-defining products has kept it ahead of fast followers. Whose shoulders has Jobs been standing on through that extraordinary string of successes? Any of these might carry the baton if Apple’s iconic CEO needs to hand it off.
Eddy Cue, VP of Internet Services
One of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People” of 2010, Cue runs iTunes and the App Store. While the tech media goggle at shiny objects, let’s recall that iTunes has broken the music industry, and the iPhone app store has called into question the future of the open web.
Timothy Cook, COO
Cook has stepped out under the Klieg lights, taking control of Apple during Jobs’ medical leave. Jobs’ lieutenant since the late 1990s, he’s the operations genius who manned the wheel in the company’s legendary turnaround. He also ran the company during previous medical absences in 2004 and 2009. Now he’s talked of as a possible successor to his charismatic boss.
Scott Forstall, senior VP of iPhone software
A frequent on-stage companion to Jobs at product launches, Forstall has the respect and admiration of Apple’s extended community of iPhone and iPad software developers. Forstall led the company’s iOS mobile operating system. Now that Android is established as a serious threat, we’re seeing more of him. Expect that to continue.
Jonathan Ive, senior VP of industrial design
A rock star in his own right, Ive’s work on the iPod put him among the most influential industrial designers alive today. London’s Daily Mail reported Ive has butted heads with Apple over his own wish to tele-commute from his native England. But if he stays, much of Apple’s design mojo stays with him.
Phil Schiller, senior VP of worldwide product marketing
Even as some competitors demonstrate an ability to catch up quickly, Apple has stayed far ahead by issuing category-defining products. Jobs’ famous quote about knowing what consumers want before they do – well, that’s Phil Schiller’s job at the company. Apple’s future depends on his ability to dream up un-thought-of concepts in consumer electronics and computing.
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