One of the favorite topics for various blogs and publications has been for the past few months the health of Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. We’ve heard lots of rumors but Jobs has always assured everyone that he was fine. Yesterday he has sent an email (see below) to all Apple employees telling them that he will take a prolonged leave of absence from Apple due to complex health related problems. Tim Cook will replace him until the end of June but he will still be the CEO. Will this affect Apple’s creativity in 2009? Well hopefully he will fully recover by June and get back to what he does best!

Here’s the email I was telling you about:

Team,

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

via AppleInsider