Steve Jobs to Jonathan Ive: 5 men who made the company a mega-successMumbai, Apr 1(AZINS) On April 1, 1976, Apple was formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. The driving force of these founders and subsequent top management teams has kept Apple at the forefront of innovation for 40 years. Of all the people who made the brand a success, there are five men who have made a particularly strong contribution.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Co-founder and father figure of the brand, the visionary Steve Jobs launched the company with his colleague Steve Wozniak who worked on the design. He proved to be a talented communicator when the Macintosh was launched. He left Apple in 1985 and 12 years later returned to the helm of the company when it was at rock bottom. He then turned Apple around with a string of innovative products such as the iMac, while positioning the company in the entertainment sector with the launch of the iPod and the iTunes Store. He also dreamed up the iPhone and the iPad, before succumbing to cancer in 2011.

Steve Wozniak (b.1950)

A brilliant computer specialist, Steve Wozniak designed Apple's first computers and peripherals which made the company a success. Having left Apple in the early 1980s to resume his studies, "Woz" returned to the fold in 1983, and then left definitively in 1985, just before Steve Jobs. Since then, he has been involved with more confidential computer-related activities. He continues to be respected as a pioneer in the computer world and an astute observer of Apple as it is today.

Mike Markkula (b.1942)

Apple's first shareholder. Mike Markkula made an initial investment of 250,000 dollars which helped the company to develop and market its first products at the end of the 1970s. He was Apple's CEO between 1981 and 1983 and contributed both financially and strategically to its success. He remained at the company until Steve Jobs returned in 1997. He has subsequently invested in numerous start-ups.

Jonathan Ive (b.1967)

Apple's star designer Jonathan Ive helped to turn Apple around at the end of the 1990s. He has since overseen all the brand's major projects, including the iMac, the Apple Watch, the iPod and the iPhone. As Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, he has received many awards for his work. This rather quiet 49-year-old designer now has the last word on all of Apple's new products.

Tim Cook (b.1960)

Apple's current CEO gradually climbed all the rungs of the ladder before replacing Steve Jobs at the head of the Californian firm in 2011. He has successfully continued the work of his predecessor by relying on solid products such as the iPhone and the MacBook Air. Tim Cook has also been in the news lately when he came out as gay, and in his battle with the FBI, as he refused to reveal any technical information to help to unlock an iPhone belonging to a terrorist.