Financial Times Names Steve Jobs Person Of The Year

Apple CEO Steve Jobs was named Person of the Year by the Financial Times, largely for his success in making Apple one of the most talked-about - and profitable - tech companies in the world.

The paper called Jobs' appearance at an Apple conference at the beginning of the year the most remarkable comeback in modern business history.

Jobs was originally fired from Apple in the mid 1980s, but returned when Apple bought the second company he founded, NeXT. Apple has been such a success that in 2010 its market capitalization, for the first time, passed Microsoft.

The introduction of the iPad was also an unalloyed success, as is Apple's effect on the technology market as a whole, the paper said. Its design influence is felt in the fact that so many tablet makers try to duplicate aspects of the design, such as the stripped-down operating system and programs designed for specific tasks. Apple's styling and industrial design have become iconic.

The FT also noted Jobs' legendary perfectionism, which extends from the design of the icons on software to his heavily-rehearsed public appearances.

Apple has had its hiccups - the famous antennagate problem with the new iPhone 4 was one this year, and many felt that Jobs' response was disingenuous at best. But the fact that the company still pulls in sales of $50 billion is a testament to Jobs' vision, the FT said.