Apple picks itself up to hobble next furlong

If Mr Steve Jobs decides to appoint himself chief executive officer of Apple Computer it will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following the company's internal wrangling over the past nine months. Mr Jobs returned to Apple, the company he co-founded, after Apple after it bought his company NeXT last January. Since then he has carefully worked his way from the ambiguity of being "special adviser" to former chief executive officer Mr Gilbert Amelio, to becoming the real decision-maker in the beleaguered company.

Theoretically, it is the task of Apple's board of directors to appoint the company's chief executive officer, but giving Mr Jobs the helm will be a mere formality. Mr Jobs himself appointed the current board last August, on the same day he announced that Apple would bury the hatchet and work with, rather than revile, its traditional nemesis, Microsoft.

Apple's board has always been like no other. From early on, it took on a dramatic role of its own, acting as a Greek chorus which both defined the tenor of Apple's ceaseless corporate drama and which occasionally read the entrails to appoint a new chairman. The board appeared almost as frequently in news stories as Apple's chief executive of the moment.

Until Mr Jobs ousted Mr Amelio and shuffled the chorus last summer, Apple's board had been relatively stable with a slow turnover and one constant member from Apple's early days: Mr `Mark' Markulla. But increasingly members of the board were seen as stale has-beens particularly Mr Markulla, who'd been a central figure in choosing a string of chairmen widely disliked by Apple employees and the general Mac-loving public.

Mr Jobs scuttled the crew and made new appointments in August, to palpable relief. Mr Amelio's two most recent appointees were retained: du Pont chairman, Mr Edgar Woolard, and Hughes Electronics senior vicepresident, Mr Gareth Chang. Three new members came in: Mr Lawrence Ellison, Oracle chairman and CEO; Mr Bill Campbell, president and CEO of Intuit; and Mr Jerry York, former chief financial officer at Chrysler and IBM. Mr Jobs also became a member of the board.

The new board was widely praised by industry analysts at the time of its appointment for its depth and breadth. There was energy from Mr Ellison, Mr Campbell and Mr Jobs; technical knowledge in Mr Chang and Mr Ellison; and solid management skills in Mr Campbell, Mr Woolard, Mr Ellison and Mr York. Mr York also presided over the company resurrections at Chrysler and IBM.

According to reports, Mr Woolard, the oldest board member, was Mr Jobs's original backer and led the overthrow of Mr Amelio. "Mr Woolard became this confidant of Steve very quickly, and he's remained the father figure on the board," says a recently-departed Apple employee who was close to senior management.

And he notes that Intuit's Mr Bill Campbell, a former football coach at Columbia University, is widely liked.

But despite the initial industry praise, the board has done little except rubber-stamp Mr Jobs's own decisions since he became self-appointed interim CEO, says analyst and Upside magazine columnist Mr David Coursey. "The only person who matters on that board is Steve Jobs," he says.

"It's Stevie's board. Steve is imposing his iron will and reality distortion field on them just like he does everyone else," says the former Apple employee. (Throughout Silicon Valley, the charismatic Mr Jobs's ability to sway listeners is referred to as his "reality distortion field".)

Analysts concur. "The board is just hanging on to its socks and hoping it doesn't get laughed off the playground," says Mr Roger Kay, senior analyst with Independent Data Corporation in Massachusetts.

Many would argue that Mr Jobs and the board have inherited a highly volatile, no-win situation in which numerous management changeovers make it difficult to rebuild. "There have been many different people making the decisions, all with different points of view and different criteria," says former Apple vice-president and director of interactive technologies Mr Howard Green. Mr Green is now vice-president of marketing with multimedia network company, OneTouch. "Apple management has been very unstable."

Within Apple, there are mixed feelings. "Generally, there are still mass defections from Apple," says the former Apple employee. "There's a feeling of inevitability: in a couple of years, at most, all this will be over. But it's exciting again right now, with Steve back the parking lots are fuller. So most of them that are left are gearing up for a fun ride for the next while."

Few seem to think Apple which employs 1,500 people in Ireland will make it: "When you look at its economics, it's just a finished game," says Mr Kay. "It's Mars." But battered Apple still has an indefinable ability to claim user affection which no other computer manufacturer has ever had. Even the most cynical analysts aren't immune: "The insane thing is, I'm still buying Macs," says Mr Coursey. "I love Mac! I don't want them to go away."

"It's sad to watch what has been a proud and industry-leading company go through such difficult times," adds Mr Green. "Hope springs eternal."