Jobs admits serious errors in judgement, analyst at gartner says says Jobs may be forced to resign, and it would be a disaster for Apple:
us.ft.com
Apple's Jobs says he knew of possible backdating
By Richard Waters and Kevin Allison in San Francisco
Wednesday Oct 4 2006 19:10
Steve Jobs, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) 's chief executive, on Wednesday admitted to knowing about potentially illegal employee stock option practices at the iPod and Mackintosh computer maker, as a former chief financial officer resigned from its board over the affair.
Mr Jobs' admission, and a public apology he issued over the matter, make him the most prominent Silicon Valley executive yet to be tarnished by the spreading options backdating scandal.
"If this were to escalate to the point where Steve Jobs were forced to resign, it would be a disaster for Apple," said Van Baker, analyst at Gartner.
However, he questioned why Apple and Mr Jobs had not disclosed his knowledge of the backdating three months ago, when the company first disclosed its internal investigation into the matter. “I think it was a bad judgment call,” he said. |
