August 14, 1997: Heavy Hitters Weigh in on Apple’s CEO Search

Steve Jobs had declined the boards offer to become the new CEO of Apple but had agreed to stay while the board continued looking for a permanent CEO. In retrospect Mr. Jobs may have been biding his time in an effort to judge Apple's prospects for a turnaround but, at the time, people assumed Apple would soon be headed by someone other than Jobs.

Many thought the job was near impossible as the side bar of Apple Confidential attests:

"Right now the job is so difficult it would require a bisexual, blond Japanese who is 25 years old and has 15 years' experience"
Jean-Louis Gassee


"Apple is a company that has opportunity written all over it. But you'd need to recruit God to get it done."
Charles Haggerty

People made their views on the near impossibility of turning Apple around known in an issue of Forbes published this week in 1997.


Source: Apple Confidential 2.0 289