What CEO succession plan?

Apple is not alone. According to a recent survey, only 35% of companies have one.

Source: Korn/Ferry

At Apple's (AAPL) annual meeting on Feb. 23, shareholders will vote on a proposal that asks the company to produce a written CEO succession plan -- a motion that was endorsed Friday by Institutional Shareholder Services, an influential proxy service firm.

All companies should have such a plan in place, ISS said in remarks that were widely reported in the business press.

What ISS should have added is that very few companies do.

According to a December survey of more than 1,300 companies in 60 countries by Korn/Ferry, a leading executive search firm, 98% of respondents agreed that CEO succession planning was an important piece of corporate governance, but only 35% had such a plan in place.

Steve Jobs has often said that he has a plan -- which makes sense given his importance to the company and the state of his health -- but that he has no intention of making it public.

It's not likely that he will have to. Shareholder proposals almost never muster enough votes to pass.

Via: SFGate.com

Also on Fortune.com:

• Thinking the unthinkable: Apple without Steve Jobs
• Apple's 10 biggest problems
• After Steve Jobs: Handicapping Apple's back bench

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]