Gil Amelio

Gilbert Frank Amelio (born March 1, 1943) is an American businessman. He was Apple's CEO from January 1996 to July 1997, taking over from Michael Spindler, and ultimately succeded by Steve Jobs.

During his tenure, the company rolled out the Network Server 500 and 700 in an attempt to enter the high-end server market, released highly confusing Mac OS updates (notably Mac OS 7.5.3 and up to five different variants), introduced the first dual processor Mac, and released the PowerBook 1400, the PowerBook 2400, and the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh.

Advised by CTO Ellen Hancock, Amelio made the decision to pull the plug on the Copland and Gershwin projects, which had failed to produce a "modern Mac OS". Instead, the company acquired NeXT, brought back Steve Jobs, and started work on Rhapsody.