Photograph, Fremont, California, 1990.
Apple CEO John Sculley overcame severe shyness and stuttering to become an excellent public speaker, able to easily greet the press at an Apple factory in Fremont. John was convinced by Steve Jobs to leave Pepsi and join Apple in 1983. They bonded quickly and deeply. Yet Steve soon clashed with John and threatened to have him fired if he would not do as he wanted. The board sided with John and it was Steve who was forced out. Yet after Steve, John grew Apple from $800 million to $8 billion a year in revenue, leaving it the most profitable computer company in the world when he himself was fired by the board in 1993. He was a leader in Silicon Valley on diversity hiring and funded a rebel unit inside Apple to innovate beyond Macintosh by building a handheld computing and communications device called Newton. Although Newton failed, John predicted billions would someday use smart devices. He was derided in the press but ultimately vindicated as correct as Newton paved the way for iPhone and smartphones in general. And to build Newton, John invested in radical new chip technology that is now used in 85% of mobile devices. His investments later saved Apple making Steve’s return possible.
- 17” (43.18cm) Height
- 22” (55.88cm) Width
- Signed on verso by the artist