July 8, 1997: Steve Jobs begins his path to becoming chief executive officer of Apple, after former CEO Gil Amelio departs the company following a massive quarterly loss. Also leaving Apple is Ellen Hancock, executive vice president of technology.
To run Apple’s day-to-day operations, CFO Fred Anderson takes over until a new CEO can be found. Jobs, meanwhile, moves from strategic adviser to take “a more expanded role with Apple’s board and executive management team,” according to CNN Money.
Cupertino’s turnaround has started!
Shakeup at Apple as CEO Gil Amelio exits
Amelio and Hancock had only been in their positions at Apple since 1996, both joining from National Semiconductor. However, they were unable to turn around Apple quickly enough to satisfy the company’s board of directors.
The month before the departures, Apple filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to say it would take the company longer than expected to return to profitability. Apple also noted that it needed to cut 3,500 full-time jobs.
At the time, Jobs’ shift within the company was not widely commented upon. He had rejoined Apple late the previous year, following Apple’s acquisition of his company NeXT. Jobs and, for a brief time, Steve Wozniak, gave Apple fans a morale boost when the co-founders returned to the company.
The re-emergence of Steve Jobs
Jobs wasn’t immediately open about wanting to take over as Apple CEO. Nonetheless, with the power vacuum that Amelio left behind, Jobs started reshaping Apple into a winning company.
At the time, he said he was just doing this until a more suitable replacement could be found. However, it didn’t take Jobs long to cement himself in this role.
Just a few months later, on September 16, 1997, Apple named Jobs interim CEO. This title quickly became shortened to iCEO, which makes Jobs’ role the first “i” release, predating even the iMac G3. Early the next year, Apple became profitable again.
Jobs quickly steered the company to success with a string of hit products, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Shortly before his death in 2011, Jobs handed the reins over to current Apple CEO Tim Cook. And under Cook’s command, Apple turned into a $3 trillion company.
Were you an Apple fan when Jobs returned on this day in 1997? If so, what was your reaction to his coming back to the company he co-founded? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
