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Technology Stocks : Apple Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: e. boolean who wrote (10241)	3/30/1998 1:53:00 PM
From: e. boolean	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 213177

This just in from NewsBytes: ****Apple Board Never Had A Choice On CEO Issue 03/30/98 CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1998 MAR 30 (NB) -- By Patrick McKenna, Newsbytes. The Wall Street Journal has reported Apple Computer's [NASDAQ:AAPL] board of directors decided to let interim chief executive officer (CEO) Steven Jobs remain in his current executive position as long as possible. Last week, various media reports suggested the board would pressure Jobs to become Apple's full-time CEO, but two analysts said the board never had a choice in the matter. "My sources were unable to confirm all those stories about the board pressuring Jobs to take a permanent CEO position,' said one analyst, who wished to remain anonymous. He also said, "They (the board) seem to be making no progress on finding a permanent CEO, and, to be honest, given the performance of the stock in recent weeks, I don't think they have a choice right now," he added. Michael Murphy, computer industry analyst and publisher of the California Technology Stock Letter, told Newsbytes, "They (the Apple board) have not been able to find anyone who will take the CEO position as long as Jobs is in control. Who wants that job? What can they do to pressure Jobs? He controls the company and the stock is up right now. I don't know if there is pressure from the board, but I don't think they are in position to make him do anything at all." In the long run, Murphy, who frequently refers to Jobs and the board as the "Apple destruction committee," believes Apple is on a limited upswing which precedes a fall within two years. In that fall, he sees the end of Apple as it currently stands (a proprietary software and hardware developer and manufacturer). Murphy also said Jobs cannot easily leave Pixar, his successful digital film animation company, to become Apple's CEO. "He has a three picture multi-million dollar contract with Disney to produce three films. Toy Store was the first, but he has to produce two more. I think the deal calls for a film every two or three years. "At some point, the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) may step-in and ask Apple how long they intend to operate without a permanent CEO," added Murphy. "What exactly is an interim CEO?" The Wall Street Journal reported, "The decision, disclosed by a director Friday following a meeting of the board, means that Mr. Jobs is under no time-table to accept or reject the panel's repeated offers for him to permanently run the company he co-founded 22 years ago. 'He is the CEO,' said the board member, Edgar S. Woolard, in an interview. 'Whether we call him interim or not interim is a non-issue with us. We hope he will stay a long time.'" Formally, Apple remains quiet on whether or not the board pressured Jobs. The company has not released any information on the agenda of last week's board meeting. Meanwhile, Apple's stock reached 27 points at noon (EST) today, up from a close of 26.9375 on Friday.