When Steve Jobs was Chairman of Apple’s Board of Directors, the group was seen more as advisors. Now, post-Jobs and led by CEO Tim Cook, the tech goliath may consider picking an outsider to oversee Apple’s next chapter, according to a Friday report.
The board of directors could be strengthened if Apple brought in someone not hand-picked by Jobs, one analyst told Reuters. A new director could provide “healthy tension” between himself and Cook, according to Colin Gillis of BGC Partners. In 2009, Apple brought in Avon CEO Andrea Jung to act as “co-lead director,” a move partially designed to answer concerns about Jobs’ excessive influence on the board.
Boston University School of Management corporate governance expert professor Jim Post also suggests Apple needs to bring in new faces not “living in Steve’s shadow.” “The old message was ‘trust Steve,’ the new message has to be ‘trust the team.’ It’s no longer the cult of personality,” Post says.
Currently, Apple’s board of directors consists of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Genentech Chairman Arthur D. Levinson, Jung, and Cook. In late 2010, former Northrop Grumman Corporation CEO and chairman Ronald D. Sugar was appointed to the board after Jerry York died.
