Who would you trust to lead Apple, without Jobs?

Jonny Evans
|
June 19, 2008
Share
Tim Cook
10% (283 votes)
Jonathan Ive
49% (1422 votes)
Daniel Cooperman
1% (16 votes)
Tony Fadell
1% (24 votes)
Scott Forstall
12% (338 votes)
Ron Johnson
1% (27 votes)
Peter Oppenheimer
2% (44 votes)
Phil Schiller
18% (537 votes)
Bertrand Serlet
2% (52 votes)
Your own candidate/comment
6% (184 votes)
Total votes: 2927

Comments (24)

admin | June 19, 2008 - 5:35am

Just so you know - we think SJ will be at the helm for many more years

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 5:48am

How many of you IDIOTS know ANYTHING about ANY of the aforementioned Steve Jobs potential successors? My advice to you, stick to AMERICAN IDOL! The vast majority of you know NOTHING about the executive branch at Apple! WHAT AN IDIOTIC POLL QUESTION! NONE OF YOU ARE EVEN REMOTELY QUALIFIED TO ANSWER SUCH A RIDICULOUS POLL QUESTION!

Jonny Evans | June 19, 2008 - 6:23am

 Now, now, do calm down.

We know quite a lot about most of the boys (and it is all boys, isn't it?) who could be in the running, actually. Most Mac watchers have a slight handle on things, because we <Insert Gratuitous Use Of Caps Lock Key>care<end caps> about the firm.

Anyway, always feel like people who over-use caps lock need to focus more on what they are saying - and surely you're not suggesting Simon Cowell should end up deciding who runs Apple? Surely he's done enough cultural damage already?

Kev Orng (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 6:49am

Just as bad as people who shout in All Caps are children who use schoolyard insults like "fanboy" or (insert insult here) to completely sum up another person's discussion/argument/interest without actually considering what's being said.

It's exactly like the way Americans use "liberal" to silence people with even slightly moderate-to-left tendencies. It's not an argument, it's not a contribution, it's not even slightly well thought-out. It's just, "I want you to shut up, or I'll slap this dreaded label on you and all my cronies will agree and we'll laugh at you together"

(Yes, I know liberal isn't an insult in the rest of the world but in the US it can be a career-killing label)

Sorry for the rant, I'm on an anti-use-of-the-word-fanboy campaign this week.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 8:25am

Jeez, who p*ssed on YOUR Wheaties this morning?

Take a pill, dude!

green (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 5:55am

While we're all concerned that Steve is getting smaller, maybe we should be a little concerned that Phil is getting BIGGER! Has anyone else noticed how fat he's getting?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 6:06am

Great idea 9to5Mac Noob we can have a American Idol TV show to select the next Apple CEO

Stef (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 6:10am

While i don't think that Steve Jobs will leave Apple soon, and don't think that there's anything unusal with his health, i do find this an interesting question!

I think that most of the desicions are already made by not only Steve Jobs. The company has become to big to handle by only one person. So i think the best person to follow him up eventually is someone with the same "keynote skills" as Steve, because that is what makes new products from apple so great: the way they are introduced.

So then i think the best person would be Scott Forstall, beause he seems confident and he can give a great presentation. I think that Jonathan Ive would never be a good leader because he is insanely great in what he does, but really bad in telling how he does it. He's a creator, not a presenter. Phill Shiller always looks nervous, Bertrand is just to funny to listen to, and the rest is to unknown. So i think (at this moment) that Scott would be the best leader...

But then again, as i already said: i think we're going to see Steve for many many years to come! I'm looking forward to the next keynote!

Frankster (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 7:13am

I would do it...

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 7:15am

Steve Wozniak would be my candidate to succeed Steve Jobs.

Kev Orng (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 7:58am

That would be like having Shaggy succeed Fred!
Sure we all love him, but Velma's more qualified.

Mac Daddy (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 8:07am

I think Steve will be around for a while to come, but I would be the best successor..... :)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 9:23am

Well, QED....Fake Steve Jobs of course!

Correct Answer Dude (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 9:31am

The Correct Answer to "Who is the best Steve Jobs Successor" is:

Whoever Steve Jobs selects.

The rest of us do not have the perspective to make this decision.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 9:47am

Perhaps a headline to the effect of "Who would you prefer to run Apple...." indicating a personal opinion poll. This might take the edge off it for those that take everything too seriously.

As for the question at hand: A lot will depend on what type of company Apple becomes between now and then.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 11:33am

Al Gore.

Head of Apple is a bigger job than POTUS, but we're sure Al will succeed!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 5:46pm

I cant believe Oppenheimer received so many votes - that guy is a scumbag asshole after meeting with him. BTW I voted for Ive - about the only one that "might" have visionary ability.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 6:38pm

Eric Schmidt

Apple and Google will announce a merger about 9 months before Steve "retires"/ He will cast his final reality distortion field and pass its secrets onto the Google-meister (who seems to already cast a pretty good field himself).

macerroneous (not verified) | June 19, 2008 - 7:56pm

This is not just another Crazy Apple Rumor. The pieces have all come together now. Moltz has been groomed for well over 18 months. Recall his major faux pas when he let slip that the iphone would have only one button. Clearly, Steve has had him on the development team for quite some time, but that slip really set back John's progress and actually cast some doubts in Steve's mind that Moltz really had the intestinal fortitude to maintain the ring of trust required to run the most secretive organization outside of the Vatican. Nevertheless, Steve respects the creative genius represented in Moltz. Steve's deteriorating health required an accelerated program for John, including leadership training, yoga, and dietary counseling. This has forced John to take a hiatus. I'm afraid we won't see him back until he bursts onto the seen as Steve's heir apparent at the next Macworld Expo.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 20, 2008 - 12:42am

Scott Forstall reminds me most of Steve Jobs. He is charismatic, and can give a good speech. I also believe that he can come up with new innovative devices, while keeping them simple and beautiful.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 20, 2008 - 1:27am

Please let Jonathan Ive continue to do what he does best - design hardware.
His talents are realized through design, not through the distractions of running a major corporation.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | June 20, 2008 - 2:18am

I know it doesn't count, but the one I could see in a stage introducing new Apple products with a similar passion would be Guy Kawasaki.

Mooshu (not verified) | June 20, 2008 - 4:38am

I vote for Scott too, I think he has ability to give a keynote with charismatic sense. We need a good presenter and a guy with business in mind to run the company ( he know how to make a good software). I don't think Jonathan Ive is a good candidate because he is an industrial designer not a businessman.