Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes medical leave

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says the iPad-maker has granted him a medical leave of absence, a year and a half after his return from a liver transplant.

Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, said that Tim Cook, the Chief Operating Officer, would be responsible for day to day operations, according to media reports.

In a letter emailed to employees Monday, Jobs said the board of directors granted him the leave so that, "I can focus on my health," but that he would be involved in "major strategic decisions for the company." He will continue to serve as Apple chief executive.

Cook recently represented Apple during its co-launch of the iPhone with Verizon Wireless.

Jobs's health is key to Apple. He is deeply involved in all aspects of the company's business, which in recent years has produced the iPod digital music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet, cementing a place as a leading consumer-electronics maker.

Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976, was dismissed in a boardroom coup in 1985 and began a second leadership stint at Apple in 1997. He is widely credited for reviving the then-struggling computer maker in the late 1990s with hit products such as the iMac desktop computer.

Jobs also took medical leave in the first half of 2009, returning to the company in late June of that year after his liver transplant.

“I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can,” Jobs, 55, said in the e-mail to Apple employees.

The Wall Street Journal has a profile on Tim Cook.

Apple shares fell on the news.