Enterprise Featured Article

Steve Jobs to Return to Apple After Medical Leave

By Jessica Kostek, TMCnet Channel Editor

For those who have been following Apple’s news, months ago, the company announced that their CEO Steve Jobs (News - Alert) would have to take a medical leave of absence due to a hormone imbalance that was discovered after Jobs had lost a significant amount of weight. At the time of his unexpected departure, few details were given and many investors started to worry about the longevity of the company.

 

However, after months of uncertainty about Steve Jobs's health, the Apple (News - Alert) Inc. chief executive appears on track to return from medical leave this month, said people familiar with Apple.

 

Although there haven’t been any updates since he was last seen, Jobs "is coming along," a person close to the matter told the Wall Street Journal and he is on schedule to return to work later this month, said this person, who has seen Mr. Jobs in recent weeks.

 

"He was one real sick guy,'' added this person.”Fundamentally he was starving to death over a nine-month period. He couldn't digest protein. [But] he took corrective action.''

 

Despite the public not seeing Jobs, people who work for the company have reported seeing him periodically around the office. By the end of this month, Jobs is expected to be at the office everyday.

 

"We look forward to Steve returning to Apple at the end of June," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said Thursday, reiterating the company's previous statements.

 

Jobs didn't respond to a request for comment for the WSJ and Apple has said its marketing chief, Philip Schiller, will give Monday's keynote address -- a role reserved for Jobs in past years.

 

Others caution against expecting Jobs back next week. "He likes to surprise people, but we don't think that's likely to happen at WWDC," said Richard Doherty, an analyst at technology consultancy Envisioneering Group.

 

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster expects Apple to unveil a new iPhone (News - Alert) model, with or without Jobs at the conference, even if the company doesn't immediately start selling it.

 

According to the WSJ, it isn't clear if Jobs will return to his full set of duties immediately but many Apple watchers think Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will continue to run the day-to-day operations as he had been doing even before Jobs went on leave.

 

The past five months without Jobs have given investors confidence that Apple can run smoothly without him having shares rise 68 percent since Jobs announced his leave on Jan. 14, compared with a 24 percent  increase in the Nasdaq Composite Index over that period.

 

"I think it's becoming less and less of a key variable," says Mike Binger, a fund manager at Minneapolis-based Thrivent Asset Management, which owns Apple shares. "This past time period has proven that Apple as an entity can survive without Steve Jobs going to work on a daily basis."

Jessica Kostek is a channel editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Jessica’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jessica Kostek