Steve Jobs absent from Apple shareholders' meeting

by Stevie Smith - Feb 24 2009, 16:40

Steve Jobs may have publicly stepped from the technology limelight to better address his health concerns, but that hasn’t in any way diminished the media’s apparent obsession with Apple’s iconic chief executive officer.

More pointedly, while some choose to focus on sensationalist banalities such as whether Jobs has or hasn’t abandoned his chat habits as of late, others are following his every step (or lack thereof) on the business front.

Presently on a six-month medical leave of absence, it is unsurprising to learn that Jobs will not be attending Apple’s annual meeting of shareholders this coming February 25.

According to Bloomberg, this year’s meeting will be the first for more than a decade that has not included Jobs.

While no company is sustained by the vision of just one man, the significant influence of Jobs in the core success gathered by Apple over recent years is clear, which may well result in Apple’s shareholders looking for possible succession plans from the company’s executives in the event of Jobs not returning to his position as planned.

Rumour and speculation has been whirling around Jobs ever since he battled through a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004. Despite continuing in his role of Apple CEO, fresh whispers began circulating in June of 2008 when Jobs appeared to be unusually drawn and gaunt at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

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