Apple’s Board of Directors announced that visionary and founder Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer.

Jobs has had some health issues recently, which may have lead to his decision to step down, though health wasn’t mentioned in the press release.

As part of his resignation, Jobs strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO. The Board acted on that advice and set Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the new CEO. Jobs was then elected Chairman of the Board. Cook will also join the Board.

As COO, Cook was responsible for Apple’s worldwide sales and operations, and even headed Apple’s Macintosh division

While Jobs won’t be leading the company directly, his position Chairman of the Board will ensure that he is still close to the company and instrumental in its direction.

Source: Yahoo! Finance