Apple, Inc.
Transparency in Corporate Statements About the CEO
http://www.awpagesociety.com/images/uploads/Apple_Inc_Transparency.pdf
Authors: Kim, Paul; Lee, Jon; Lee, Steve
Source: Arthur W. Page Society
Year: 2010
Company Name: Apple, Inc.
Number of pages: 8
Abstract:
On June 9, 2008 at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, numerous media outlets and a packed house waited to hear Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs's keynote address introducing the new iPhone 3G. While the product's debut drew raves worldwide, the real buzz was created by how gaunt and exhausted Steve Jobs appeared on stage. Rumors immediately began circulating on Internet forums on the apparent source of his condition - perhaps a reemergence of the pancreatic cancer he suffered in 2004 or some new unknown ailment plaguing the widely covered business icon?
Six months after the WWDC, Apple announced that Jobs would not be delivering his customary keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo 2009, and that the charismatic rock star of the tech world would be replaced by comparatively unknown Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing. This made the previous rambles pale in comparison to the full-fledged rumors that then began to flood media outlets, the Internet and Wall Street regarding Steve Jobs's health and the subsequent impact on Apple and its future.
This case won First Prize, Business School in the Arthur W. Page Society 2010 Case Competition. A Powerpoint presentation can be downloaded here. Also, teaching notes will be made available to faculty upon request.