"Their partnership began when Jobs appointed Ive as Apple's senior vice president of industrial design in 1997. Ive described their daily routine, saying, "We worked together for nearly 15 years. We had lunch together most days and spent our afternoons in the sanctuary of the design studio."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/111457691.cms...

This is a great talk by Brian on why he is CEO, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about designers not being CEOs from what I gathered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6h_EDcj12k