Name: Steven Paul Jobs.
Born: Born in 1955, Steve Jobs is adopted by parents Paul and Clara Jobs in San Francisco.
Education: A self-taught computer and electronics fanatic. Graduates from high school in Silicon Valley in 1972. Enrolls in Reed College in Oregon but drops out after one semester.
Career: After a stint designing computer games at Atari Inc, Jobs, 21, pairs with Steve Wozniak, 26, and sets up Apple Computer in the Jobs family garage in 1976. Apple goes public in 1980 and introduces the Macintosh computer in 1984. Jobs is ousted in 1985 and forms NeXT Inc; buys a majority stake in computer animation company Pixar, in 1986. Jobs returns to Apple as "special adviser" in 1996 and in 1997, takes on his current role of "interim CEO".
Reputation: Intensely charismatic and a superb showman, Jobs is famed for his "reality distortion field" which can make listeners believe just about anything he says. Also known for an obsessive need to be in control and mercurial temper swings. Until Apple's turnaround, considered a middling-to-poor businessman.
Why in the news: Following a decision to outsource manufacturing of the iMac computer, Apple is axing 450 employees at its Cork site, raising concerns about the facility's future.
