Jim Lynch: Off the Top of My Head…

I got two emails this morning from Apple PR. One is a letter from Steve Jobs and the other is from Apple’s Board of Directors. The one from Jobs indicates that a hormone imbalance has made him lose weight and that he is seeking treatment. The letter from the board expresses support for Jobs.

Here’s the letter from Jobs:

Letter From Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

SOURCE  Apple

-0-                             01/05/2009

/PRNewswire — Jan. 5/

/Web site:  http://www.apple.com /

(AAPL)

And here’s the letter from Apple’s board:

Statement by Apple’s Board of Directors

CUPERTINO, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — It is widely recognized both inside and outside of Apple that Steve Jobs is one of the most talented and effective CEOs in the world.

As we have said before, if there ever comes a day when Steve wants to

retire or for other reasons cannot continue to fulfill his duties as Apple’s CEO, you will know it.

Apple is very lucky to have Steve as its leader and CEO, and he deserves our complete and unwavering support during his recuperation. He most certainly has that from Apple and its Board.

(C) 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE  Apple

-0-                             01/05/2009

/NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (www.apple.com/pr/), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042./

/CONTACT:  Press Contact, Steve Dowling of Apple, +1-408-974-1896, dowling@apple.com/

Wow. Well it should be very interesting to see how the market takes these two statements. Jobs has been extremely candid in this letter to Apple’s customers and stock holders. But is it going to make a difference? Well it certainly won’t to the media who will continue to speculate about Jobs’ health endlessly. But it might help calm the worries of Apple shareholders.

I give him kudos for coming out and letting people know exactly what has been going on with him with his health. He’s always struck me as a relatively private kind of guy so it must not have been particularly easy for him to issue this statement but he is Apple’s CEO so his heath is a legitimate issue.

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