
From Diesel to Doctor
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From Diesel to Doctor
Although Michael H. Spindler joined Apple in September 1980 as marketing
manager for European operations, the native of Berlin, Germany, didn’t
pop up on the radar screens of most Apple watchers until January 29,
1990, when he moved to Cupertino to assume the role of chief operating
ofcer, taking over the worldwide manufacturing and marketing units that
had previously reported to Jean-Louis Gassée. Nicknamed “The Diesel”
because of his ability to attack complex problems head-on with no-nonsense
management experience, Spindler was chugging down a career path that
would take him to the ...