Apple Says Jobs Knew About Options
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Apple Computer Inc. said Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs knew stock options were backdated and said the actions of two former executives raise “serious concerns.”
The results of an investigation found no misconduct by the current management team, including Mr. Jobs, Apple said in a statement today. Director Fred Anderson, Apple’s former chief financial officer, resigned from the board, the company said.
Mr. Jobs apologized to shareholders for the problems that “happened on my watch.” The investigation discovered that the most recent evidence of irregularities relates to a grant from January 2002. Cupertino, California-based Apple said 15 option awards between 1997 and 2002 appear to have been backdated.
“Apple was not required to include any specific information on Steve in this press release,” spokesman Steve Dowling said in a telephone interview today. “Steve decided to include it in the press release because he wanted to uphold the total transparency that has characterized this voluntary investigation.”
