Jobs' Privacy vs. Investors' Right to Know

Ethicist: 'He Gives Up Some of His Rights to Privacy'

Apple Inc.'s CEO Steve Jobs says he is taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

(AP Photo)

Tim Bajarin, the chief analyst of Creative Strategies, acknowledged Jobs is a very private person. But the computer industry consultant added that Jobs is such an important person to the company "that you can't separate the private life from the public life."

Kirk Hanson, an ethicist at Santa Clara University, said Jobs is a unique CEO.

"His health affects the interest of so many other people," Hanson said, "that he gives up some of his right to privacy."

Munster believes Apple could have handled the whole situation differently and prevented some of the anxiety on Wall Street.

"If they would have said something earlier ... I think that people would have been more comfortable," Munster said. "The fact [that] they changed the story a little bit, or there's new information that came out, or call it what you want, has created this feeling of just uncertainty on what information investors are getting."

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Hanson said because Wall Street will be keeping a close eye on Apple, he would recommend the company's board "over-communicates" about Jobs' condition.

"Given the suspicion that now looms over Apple and its board," Hanson said, "they need to communicate any and every relevant development in Steve Jobs' health over the next six months."

Just how forthcoming Apple will be regarding Jobs' health remains a question mark.

In a written statement, Apple's board assured shareholders: "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."

Other Companies' Executives

A look at the way other companies have handled CEOs and their serious illnesses shows there is no one set formula. Each situation is decided on a case-by-case basis with the board of directors striving to strike a balance between the executive's right to privacy and the shareholders' right to know so they can make sound investment decisions.

The board of Frontier Communications chose not to tell the public when its CEO, Ron Bittner, was diagnosed with fatal brain cancer. Instead, it hired another strong executive that company officials began to groom for the number one position.