With Apple CEO Steve Jobs taking his most recent leave of absence, it's led to Wall Street speculating on who may take over Apple should Jobs have to step down. In addition to that, an Apple Inc. shareholder proposal that specifies requiring Apple disclose a CEO succession plan won the backing of Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy-advising service today.  Apple opposes the proposal.

ISS aids institutional investors in coming to a decision on how to vote on shareholder propositions, and would like for Apple's board to disclose a CEO succession plan annually, according to a report from the firm. The proposal has the backing of the Laborers' International Union of North America.

As a refresher, Jobs had announced a leave of absence on January 17, which is the third time he has had to take time off from the company since 2004, in ongoing health issues.  COO Tim Cook has since taken over control of day-to-day operations, but Apple hasn't disclosed who would take over for Jobs if he can't come back. The shareholder proposal will be discussed at Apple's annual shareholder meeting, taking place on February 23.

"A vote for the shareholder proposal to adopt a succession planning policy is warranted in light of the company's limited disclosure regarding this issue and the market's expression of concern over CEO succession at Apple," ISS says in their report from January 28. 

However, Apple prefers that shareholders vote against the proposal, saying its company governance guidelines require the board and CEO to annually review succession planning for senior management, which includes identifying potential candidates.

Also, this information is kept confidential. Apple's argument is that the leaked information could provide competitors with an unfair leg up and a crack at poaching executives. It would also harm Apple's ability to hang on to executives as it would reveal who is being considered for what, and how they are evaluated.

via BusinessWeek

Follow this article's author, Matthew Tilmann on Twitter

(Image courtesy of geek.com)