September 16, 1997 – Following the acquisition of NeXT Inc. by Apple Computers, Steve Jobs was named (Interim) CEO of the company he had cofounded years before.

Jobs and partner Steve Wozniak founded Apple computers in 1976.

By the mid-80s, Jobs had moved on to other ventures, and Apple struggled to keep a foothold in the blossoming home computing business. Though technologically superior, poor business deals and a desire to control hardware and software elements internally caused Apple to lose significant ground to Microsoft, who licensed their software commercially, allowing an infinite number of companies to make appropriate hardware to use it.

By bringing NeXT into the fold, Apple realized their product line and the marketing ability of Steve Jobs could potentially help to regain their market share. Jobs’ impact in that company was felt immediately. He overhauled their product line, incorporated technology from NeXT to revamp their operating system and began working on revolutionary products that would change computing forever.

Jobs’ innovative technique of combining high-quality products with a memorable marketing campaign worked tremendously well for Apple. Products like the iMac helped them to regain home computing market share, while other products like the iPod and the iTunes Store completely revolutionized the sale, storage and distribution of modern music.

Perhaps the most notable release was in 2007 when Jobs introduced the iPhone. A product with the power of a cellular telephone and a personal computer, featuring a fully functional touch screen display and the storage and playback capabilities of an iPod.

Steve Jobs passed away in 2011 due to complications related to a pancreatic tumor.