Steve Jobs skipped the meeting. COO Tim Cook -- his heir apparent -- presided.

Apple headquarters

Apple's (AAPL) shareholder meeting got off to a slow start as latecomers filled the company's Town Hall auditorium nearly to capacity.

CNBC's Jon Fortt reported shortly after 1:00 p.m. EST that COO Tim Cook, not Steve Jobs, had taken the stage and was introducing the board of directors.

The most controversial shareholder proposal -- that Apple adopt a detailed succession plan -- came up about 20 minutes later. According to the representative of the Central Laborers' Pension Fund who introduced it, Proposal No. 5 did not require the company to name names, she said, so management's fears about the proposal were unfounded.

But a preliminary proxy count suggested that the proposal had been defeated, as expected and as Apple had recommended.

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