Steve Jobs: The Penn Connection
October 6, 2011 at 2:00 pm
In light of Steve Jobs' death yesterday, we are taking some time to explore how two Penn alumni shaped the the legacy of Steve Jobs and Apple.
John Sculley
In 1983, Jobs recruited Wharton MBA grad John Sculley, then CEO of Pepsi, to lead Apple. Sculley initially refused Jobs' offer. Why leave a cushy corporate job for a company started in a garage by a couple hippies out west? Steve Jobs changed Sculley's mind, asking, "do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me and change the world?" As Whartonites might know, the correct answer is whichever one has highest NPV. In hindsight, we know Sculley made the right choice.
Laurene Powell Jobs
Laurene Jobs, a 1985 College and Wharton grad, married Steve Jobs in 1991. She worked for Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs before founding College Track, a college preparatory program for under-resourced communities. She sits on the board of Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships.