Apple CEO On Track for June Return

"He'll be back."

Although that might sound like a line ripped straight out of Christian Bale's forthcoming Terminator movie, the resurrection that has everyone talking this week concerns none other than Apple chief Steve Jobs. And according to Apple, the boss never really left.

For the last nine months or so, speculation has been rampant that Jobs, whose face is as synonymous with Apple as the nibbled fruit, might not return to his lofty post atop the Cupertino, California-based company. Ever since the false Bloomberg report that Jobs was dead, the media has buzzed that the enigmatic leader was tormented by unknown health issues.Back in January, the best guess was that Jobs may have been suffering a reprisal of the pancreatic cancer that threatened his life several years ago until surgery brought him back to better health.

On Tuesday, Apple shareholders gathered at Apple's Cupertino corporate campus and continued their pursuit of details regarding Jobs' health. They didn't get a whole heck of a lot of information out of Apple's executives, but they did receive some encouraging news on Jobs' status. (Source: reuters.com)

Job June Return Still Planned

"[Steve] is deeply involved in all strategic matters and has delegated day-to-day authority to Tim Cook and his team," remarked Apple's co-lead director, Arthur Levinson. "That's where it stands."

Levinson, who is also the chief executive of Genentech, admitted that Apple's board had discussed succession of Jobs' title several times, but that no decision had been made. "If there is new information we deem of import to disclose, that will happen." (Source: nytimes.com)

More encouraging news came from Timothy Cook, Apple's chief operating officer. According to reports, he assured shareholders that Jobs still planned to return to the company in June.

Still, most shareholders were unimpressed. AFL-CIO Reserve Fund representative Brandon Rees criticized Apple for not being more forthright with information on Jobs' health, a matter that has direct implications for the company's stock value. "I was disappointed by the fact that the board was not more transparent about the health of Mr. Jobs in addition to a succession plan," Rees said.

Jobs obviously wasn't present at the meeting, which might have made it rather uncomfortable when several stockholders stood to sing "Happy Birthday". Jobs' 54th passed on Tuesday.