Steve Jobs- Why is he so important

I was reading today the news about Steve Jobs taking a leave of absence because of his health issues being more serious than initially thought. Subsequently Apple stock prices were driven down and closed substantially lower at the end of the day. This led me to think as to why Steve Jobs is so important for Apple. In quite a few cases, the stepping down of the founder of a company actually helps the stock improve. This is because analysts frequently believe that a founder is good during the formative cycle of a company but his/her value deteriorates as the company becomes bigger and more comples. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have bucked this trend famously, Jobs probably even more so than Gates. Few reasons why i think he is so important to Apple
- he has been famously be able to use new technology to create devices which are usable to the normal consumer segment - Macintosh, Ipod, Itunes etc
- he has been associated with not one but two famous comings for Apple. I firmly believe that his return and turn around of Apple in the early part of the century was what built his legend. Its always easier for thought leaders to come up with a new idea once and build an empire around it but to demonstrate it multiple times has what has caught the imagination of the world
- Finally, i also think that Jobs has for various reasons, never really built up a replacement. Bill Gates had a very well known Ballmer to replace him without the market feeling the difference. Jobs has never built anyone up, so much so that his replacement for the keynote address in Macworld got people wondering "Phil Who