According to the iconic British entrepreneur, Apple needs to find a new public face, one consumers can relate to. While that might seem like a put down of new CEO Tim Cook, it’s certainly true that he’s no Steve Jobs and that the company cofounder’s charisma was a big part of Apple’s success.

That said, Richard Branson spoke at some length about Steve Jobs at McAfee’s Focus11 conference in Las Vegas and, for better and worse, here are some of the more memorable sounds bites thereupon:

— ”It is good to have a face because people relate to companies [with a public figure]. It is sad that Steve Jobs’ kids are so young so it will be very difficult for them.”

— ”Steve had a very different kind of management style, one that I wouldn’t recommend, but it worked extremely well. He was very autocratic, would not delegate and had all the minutia he wanted to be involved in.”

— ”[H]e was such a genius that people wanted to work for him and Steve achieved remarkable things.”

— ”I’m sure the team at Apple will try to make sure his legacy continues for many years to come.”

Interestingly, Branson also said that Jobs didn’t necessarily have the personality of a great people person, which is a fairly odd and perhaps obvious thing to say. Then again, if Sir Richard meant was Steve “think different” kind of guy, well, that goes without saying…

What’s your take?

Source ComputerWorld Oz via Macworld UK