A world-class executive team can build on the legacy of legendary tech pioneer Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs's second stint as chief executive of Apple has to be ranked as one of the most successful periods in US corporate history. In 1997, he rejoined the company he co-founded when the business was a basket case and a shadow of its former self. But since then he has charted a course that culminated with Apple ranked – albeit briefly – as the world's most valuable company.

Much of the reporting about him stepping down has been predictably downbeat. The messianic leader has gone, so therefore Apple will be weakened. But that seriously undermines the nature of the business that Jobs has created.

He has built the company in his image: fearless, bold, and rooted in an appreciation for the beauty of design and of things well made. In that sense, the organisation that he has led is arguably as well crafted as his products.

After Jobs stepped down, the Daily Telegraph ran a selection of his most inspirational quotes and this stood out:
"When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know it's there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through."

While Jobs was clearly talking about making great products, I think this applies as much to the team he has assembled as it does to the iPhone or the iPad.

His chief lieutenants are Apple through and through, from Jonathan Ive to Tim Cook, the new chief executive. Jobs has a second row as settled and ingrained in the "Apple way" as anyone. They share his passion for design, the pursuit of perfection and the boldness to believe they know what people will love.

Moreover, the business hasn't been forced into a panicked change of leader like so many others tech firms have been forced to do.
The Apple board and investors have had time to adjust to life after the man in black, and Cook has been groomed over several years to take on arguably the biggest job in technology today.

Apple's stock may have dipped on the news of Jobs's departure, but contrast that with the investor fury and valuation drop that Hewlett-Packard experienced on news that it was ditching PCs and becoming a software business.

He also leaves Apple in arguably its strongest shape yet. The iPhone 4 is shifting millions, first-quarter profits were up an eye-watering 124 per cent year-on-year, its competitors are in disarray or playing catch-up, and the iPad, having initially been dismissed as a gimmick, has opened up an entirely new market worth billions and forced Apple's competitors to defend charges of IP violations.

To top it all, in July Apple was briefly the world's most valuable company, despite everyone knowing that the end was in sight for Jobs as chief executive. That's a mere 14 years after Apple received a stinging rebuke from IDC, the market analysts, for a "lack of consistent, profit-generating strategies". Reaching number one in the world is arguably one of Jobs's defining achievements. Putting in place a world-class executive team to build on his legacy is one of his others.

If Apple continues to follow his course; by building beautiful, category-defining products and disrupting sectors, then its fan base – and it's right to call them fans – won't desert them. If anything, Apple customers may be even more loyal to the company after Jobs's departure – and what other new chief executive gets a chance like that?

Nick Giles is co-founder of Seven Hills