Apple CEO Steve Jobs named Financial Times 'Person of the Year'

The profile of Jobs declares that his presence onstage in January when he unveiled the iPad "capped the most remarkable comeback in modern business history." Authors Richard Waters and Joseph Menn wrote that the instant success of the iPad is perhaps the biggest frustration to Apple's rival, Microsoft.

"Of all the fingers that Apple has poked into Microsoft's eyes over the years, none can have rankled as much as the early success of the iPad," the report reads. "Mr. Gates himself championed a tablet computer nearly a decade ago, though the stylus needed to write on its screen and the PC-like interface generated little demand."

The honor is far from the first time Jobs has been recognized for his success with Apple. Earlier this month MarketWatch declared Jobs the "CEO of the Decade," and that exact same title was given to him a year ago by Fortune.

After a cancer scare that forced him to leave his duties as CEO of Apple for most of 2009, Jobs returned to the stage in September of that year to unveil his company's new iPod lineup. Since he returned, his company has continued to grow, and in May Apple's market capitalization exceeded Microsoft, making it the second largest American company.

The Times profile offers an inside look at Jobs, noting that his style has changed as Apple's business has grown. The company now concentrates more on the mass market, and one Apple veteran described Jobs' new style as more pragmatic.

"Compromise seems like too strong a word, but the greater sense of expediency reflects Apple's new place in the world," the report reads. "Its iPads are now on sale at mass-market retailers — a world away from the high style of Apple's own retail stores."