Apple Board Pressured to Say Who Will Replace Steve Jobs

Who could replace him?

​Last week, photos of a pale and gaunt-looking Steve Jobs circulated the Internet; Apple stocks dropped and investors panicked about the state of Jobs' health. With that in play, investor groups are pressuring the Apple board to tell us who will replace him.

The Apple CEO has been on medical leave since January after fighting a rare form of cancer. He had cancer surgery in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook has taken over the company's day-to-day operations since then.

"Shareholders deserve to know the company has a plan in place," said Jennifer O'Dell, assistant director of corporate affairs for Laborers' International Union of North America, which has $34 billion in assets under management. "We want to know that companies are considering these issues."

Apple is pushing back, worried that diclosing secret plans about Jobs' successor would give ammunition to competitors. Jobs, who reportedly was at Stanford Cancer Center last week, has not said when he would return from medical leave.

However, Jobs tells reporters that he will stay involved in major strategic decisions with the company.

"I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can," Jobs said in a statement issued by the company last month.

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