Former Microsoft executive says Apple has lost its way

Tim Cook has presided over Apple since Steve Jobs took a leave of absence in 2011 and later died.

In the rivalry between Microsoft and Apple, there's no love lost. But today a former Microsoft executive is making a bold claim and declaring Apple's lost its way with Tim Cook at its helm.

According to Bob Herbold, a former chief operating officer at Microsoft, Apple hasn't been the same since Steve Jobs died. Cook, who became chief executive after Jobs' death (and served as acting CEO when Jobs took a medical leave prior to his death), is nothing more than an "administrator" of Apple, Herbold implies in an article he penned for Forbes.

Though he doesn't mention Cook by name, Herbold says Apple needs "a visionary leader, not an administrator."

"The leader needs to be paranoid about making the core offerings of the organization more exciting and more impactful with its customers," Herbold wrote. "That sounds simple, but doing it with clarity and speed is absolutely necessary. You must avoid any kind of bureaucracy that can water down the impact of your efforts or slow it to a snail's pace."

Herbold calls Jobs the "ultimate visionary leader," something he claims reversed Apple's fortunes, thanks to products such as the iPhone and iPad. In the article, Herbold cites Apple's recent stock decline as evidence of a waning interest in the company.

By comparison, Microsoft's stock over the past year has also trended downward, while Google's stock has increased relatively steadily since last June.

Source: Forbes | Image via Apple