Who's on deck in tech?

Apple's Steve Jobs isn't the only chief executive without a publicly announced plan for passing the torch. Surprisingly few technology CEOs have declared heirs.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Jessi Hempel, writer

new_reign.03.jpg
An artist imagines Google CEO Eric Schmidt (right) bequeathing his title to co-founder Sergey Brin.

(Fortune Magazine) -- Last year when Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed visible signs of illness at public speaking events, the company's stock began to gyrate unpredictably. When Jobs unexpectedly spoke on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call, the stock rose 12% in part because he simply showed up. When he canceled his MacWorld appearance, Apple shares plunged 7%. Investors worried that Jobs might step down. Could anyone replace him?

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) has never announced a succession plan publicly, although chief operating officer Tim Cook is running Apple while Jobs is on medical leave. And like Apple, most tech companies remain mum on the subject of CEO succession.

Few of the biggest names in tech, from Cisco to IBM to Oracle, have clear-cut heirs to their CEOs; most don't even have publicly designated second-in-command executives who would be ready to take over should their chiefs fall ill or resign unexpectedly. Indeed, none of the big tech companies we contacted would comment for this story.

Executive recruiters say Silicon Valley companies have always been more nonchalant about passing the torch than, say, banks or manufacturers because they tend to be younger companies, often helmed by their charismatic founders. But it isn't unprecedented for a tech entrepreneur to have a strong wingman: Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Bill Gates tapped Steve Ballmer as his No. 2 long before stepping down as CEO in 2000. (In some cases the founders may end up as future CEOs: Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) co-creator Sergey Brin could be a contender to run the company when current chief Eric Schmidt steps down.)

Sure, founders generally have a hard time letting go even when their departures are expected. Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) founder Michael Dell handpicked Kevin Rollins, president and chief operating officer, as his successor in 2004, only to replace him when the company lost its lead in PC market share to rival Hewlett-Packard. Today Dell has no president or operating chief, and analysts believe the board may look to an outsider to run things if sales continue to lag.

The founder factor may explain why Oracle's 64-year-old creator and CEO, Larry Ellison, has been reluctant to announce a successor. (In fact, Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) has two presidents, Safra Catz and Charles Phillips, who could step into the top job if Ellison unexpectedly retired.) But what's Sam Palmisano's excuse? Who is John Chambers' No. 2? IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) is known as a training ground for future CEOs, yet Palmisano, who took over in 2003, doesn't have a main lieutenant. Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), which Chambers runs, has over the years bid farewell to a few executives who were considered successors, including Joost CEO Mike Volpi. But none of the company's five executive vice presidents jump out as Chambers' successor.

Of course, just because those CEOs haven't named successors doesn't mean they're not planning for the future. And while corporate governance experts urge companies to be transparent about their executive succession plans, a CEO may have one very good reason for declining to name his replacement. (No, not ego, though that's clearly a factor.) Once a company designates an heir, all the talented executives who were eyeing the CEO-in-waiting title might simply leave.  To top of page

Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.