Low-Key Jobs Stand-In Known for Steady Hand

Steve Jobs' decision to take medical leave was no surprise to Apple-watchers, and neither is his choice of a replacement. Chief operating officer Tim Cook is a little-known name outside Silicon Valley, but his efficient, low-key approach and symbiotic relationship with Jobs over the last decade has helped transform Apple into the powerhouse it is today, analysts tell the Wall Street Journal.

The second-in-command "isn't Steve Jobs and has never tried to be Steve Jobs," but he will be able to use his own team "very effectively" during Jobs' five-month absence, said a recruiter who helped bring Cook to Apple in 1998. "Shareholders have nothing to worry about," he added. Cook previously took the helm at Apple in 2004 while Jobs recuperated from cancer surgery.
(More Tim Cook stories.)