Apple's Jobs could face uphill court battle
Fortune Magazine: Apple's Jobs could face uphill court battle
Fortune Magazine: Apple's Jobs could face uphill court battle
Is Jobs really cleared?
Despite being cleared by an internal investigation, the Apple CEO is still in legal hot water, and might need a better defense
By Roger Parloff, Fortune senior editor
January 17 2007: 11:20 AM EST
(Fortune Magazine) -- When Apple Computer disclosed on Dec. 29 the results of its own internal investigation into whether CEO Steve Jobs engaged in options-timing irregularities, the probe, conducted by a special committee of outside directors, "found no misconduct by current management," though it "raised serious concerns regarding the actions of two former officers."
The unnamed fall guys are widely reported to be former chief financial officer Fred D. Anderson and former general counsel and corporate secretary Nancy R. Heinen, who had also been Jobs' general counsel at Next.
Though most investors dearly hope the company's conclusion holds up, many can't quite suspend disbelief. "The idea that Nancy or Fred would've acted independently of the biggest control freak in the entire tech industry is laugh-out-loud funny," says one big Silicon Valley player.
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The misdatings first began, the special committee found, in December 1997 - three months after Jobs was named interim CEO. The two grants to Jobs were among the largest in history: ten million shares ostensibly granted on Jan. 12, 2000 (when the stock hit its quarterly low), and 7.5 million more dated Oct. 19, 2001.
Despite being cleared by an internal investigation, the Apple CEO is still in legal hot water, and might need a better defense
By Roger Parloff, Fortune senior editor
January 17 2007: 11:20 AM EST
(Fortune Magazine) -- When Apple Computer disclosed on Dec. 29 the results of its own internal investigation into whether CEO Steve Jobs engaged in options-timing irregularities, the probe, conducted by a special committee of outside directors, "found no misconduct by current management," though it "raised serious concerns regarding the actions of two former officers."
The unnamed fall guys are widely reported to be former chief financial officer Fred D. Anderson and former general counsel and corporate secretary Nancy R. Heinen, who had also been Jobs' general counsel at Next.
Though most investors dearly hope the company's conclusion holds up, many can't quite suspend disbelief. "The idea that Nancy or Fred would've acted independently of the biggest control freak in the entire tech industry is laugh-out-loud funny," says one big Silicon Valley player.
...
The misdatings first began, the special committee found, in December 1997 - three months after Jobs was named interim CEO. The two grants to Jobs were among the largest in history: ten million shares ostensibly granted on Jan. 12, 2000 (when the stock hit its quarterly low), and 7.5 million more dated Oct. 19, 2001.