NEW DELHI: It was August 24, 2011 and it was destined to be the last board Apple CEO Steve Jobswould attend. He decided to attend this meeting in person, despite being on leave of absence.
"He was eager to do it in person. Rather than merely send a letter or attend by phone," writes his biographerWalter Isaacson, who is also the CEO of the Aspen Institute.
Steve Jobs: Work & legacy
Jobs arrived just before 11 am at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, despite failing health. The Apple board with members such as William Campbell, (Chairman Intuit), Albert Gore (Former VP United States), Andrea Jung (CEO of Avon Products), Arthur Levinson (CEO of Genentech), Ronald Sugar (Former CEO Northrop Grumman) besides Apple COO Tim Cook. Some of the members already had an inkling of what was coming.
COO Tim Cook read out the results for the just passed quarter, in which iPhone sales grew 142% and iPad sales jumped 183% year on year.
After the sales projections, were read out, Jobs said he had something very personal to share. Tim Cook, who had been Job's confidante, and acted as CEO in his earlier leave of absence, asked him whether he and other top managers should move out of the boardroom. Jobs paused, then decided that they should, writes Isaacson.
Once the room was cleared, Jobs read out: "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."
There was a long silence. While Gore and Levinson praised Jobs', Campbell's eye trickled.
Over the lunch that followed, Jobs saw a demo of iPhone 4S. "Are you a man or a woman," Jobs asked the iPhone 4S. "They did not assign me a gender," the voice recognition app (Siri), answered from inside the iPhone.
When home, he tasted honey harvested afresh by wife Laurene. He pronounced it wonderfully sweet. Jobs passed away 42 days later, of a respiratory arrest due to pancreatic cancer.
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