Scott Forstall Profiled as Apple's 'CEO-in-Waiting'
As we noted last September, Fortune's Adam Lashinsky has written a new book entitled Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired -- and Secretive -- Company Really Works, an unauthorized look at the inner workings of Apple. The book is due for release on January 25.
Fortune offers one tidbit from the book today, profiling Senior Vice President for iOS Software Scott Forstall as Apple's current "CEO-in-waiting". The book paints a similar picture to one offered by offered by BusinessWeek last October, portraying Forstall as an aggressively ambitious "mini-Steve".
He's young (43). Comfortable on stage (played Sweeney Todd in high school). Has serious nerd credentials (Stanford, NeXT). Shares Steve Jobs' obsession with detail (keeps a jeweler's loupe in his office to check every pixel on every icon). And the division he heads -- mobile software -- drives nearly 70% of Apple's (AAPL) income.
"He's a sharp, down-to-earth, and talented engineer, and a more-than-decent presenter," one entrepreneur told Adam Lashinsky. "He's the total package."
Tim Cook was awarded 1,000,000 restricted stock units in an effort to keep him in the role of Apple CEO until at least 2021. Roughly eight years Cook's junior, Forstall would be in a good position to succeed Cook at some point in the future should Apple be able to keep him within the senior executive team.
Inside Apple will be available from numerous retailers, including from Amazon as a hardcover book, Kindle e-book, and CD audiobook, and from Apple's iBookstore [iTunes Store].
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yeah, have to agree with you there, sir. god knows what happens behind the scenes - he might be one of the best businessmen in the world, but he's onstage performance last keynote left me cold.
I was surprised too not to see him more excited about introducing a new product knowing one of his best friends was lying on his death bed. :rolleyes:
(keeps a jeweler's loupe in his office to check every pixel on every icon)
This all sounds very amazing and romantic, except that's completely stupid. If he actually wanted to check every pixel, he would zoom in photoshop or another digital graphics editing software package that allows enlargement and observation of discrete pixels. If you're using a loupe with a real screen you're magnifying in the real analog world and that's ridiculous for a number of reasons. Do you know any graphic designer who would possibly do this? Of course not, and not because they aren't clever..
Sounds like yet another book full of hype and spin and nonsense
This silly book aside, this guy does seem sharp
A LOT can change between now and 2021...
yeah, have to agree with you there, sir. god knows what happens behind the scenes - he might be one of the best businessmen in the world, but he's onstage performance last keynote left me cold.
That Keynote left me cold too, but you do have to realize that he was on stage with a HUGE gap to fill, also knowing that Steve Jobs was in his final hours and not having anything really new to report. A lot of that Keynote consisted of repetition.
Steve Jobs did have a level of charisma that Tim Cook will never have. Let's just hope the following Keynotes will be interesting to look at again...
Scott is always smiling. It looks fake.
Not that that wouldn't make him a good CEO for Apple. But it seems to me he tries to hard to look enthusiastic.
I always have a bad feeling when I see him. Yes, he looks FAKE in every aspect. Creepy, with a sinister aura. Probably butt-kissing his superiors and kicking down on his underlings. So far, he is the only Apple manager that I disliked right from the moment when I first saw him in a public appearance.
It's remarkable to me how folks assume that they know anything about someone from their public persona.
If he looks enthusiasts - it's fake and insincere. If he is less than smiling and bubbly, he's a dud. How do you know whether he is genuinely enthusiastic..
Then it gets better. He's "fake", "creepy", and best of all - a "butt-kisser...kicking down his underlings". Remarkable knowing that, never having met him or seen his behavior at work.
It is hard enough to really know anything about an individual you have lived with for years - these posts indicate knowledge based on seeing him onstage for what, 1/2 an hour, an hour?
I know nothing about the man, except that he works at Apple and has made significant contributions to numerous products. I don't know if he is a great guy, a jerk, a butt-kisser or anything else about him. I suggest judging him based upon his actions, not some specious assumptions about him.
yeah, have to agree with you there, sir. god knows what happens behind the scenes - he might be one of the best businessmen in the world, but he's onstage performance last keynote left me cold.
Wasn't his last onstage performance when they knew Jobs was in really bad shape, right before he passed away? I'd attribute his demeanor to that. Of course we won't really know for sure until the next time he is on stage.
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