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.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
35 responses to “Apple’s Board Of Directors May Need New Blood After Jobs’ Death [Report]”
This is a very unrespectful title for an article,Â
Right, because what the most successful company on Earth needs is some idiot getting in the way. As a shareholder I’m quite content with the job the Board has done thank you very much.
definitely need new blood. Apple dips without Jobs. get a Jobs type figurehead FAST
Poor chose of wording the headline.
Some charlatans put the “anal” in “analyst. He who knows nothing should shut his trap.
Yea, ‘cuz it worked so well last time!
A path for the future has been carefully crafted for years now. Trust the work that has been put into that future, and the people who have been working towards that future… I have to believe Steve Jobs knew what he was doing when he selectively filled the company with people who know what they are doing.Â
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Apple live better “under de shadow of Steve Jobs” than the light of other “outside luminary” it is by far real stupid. I am a physics. We live great full under the more powerful shadow of the whole world: Einstein. And So? Is it to bad for the world of physics? No. We need to go further. Incredible, Apple is now seeking ” other viewers outside Apple to see “the future”. Why do not watch “deep inside Apple” Mr. Ive is one of them. Look deep inside Steve Lessons when he return in 1997 to Apple. The whole world only accept in Apple a real genius that taste the future as a Steve did.
If they try to redirect the corporate structure and ethos from what Steve Jobs set in motion they are making a huge mistake. Face it, Apple is the technology superstar it is, and rightfully so, because of Steve Jobs’ decisions since his return in 1997. When the current leadership is making decisions they should ask themselves, what would Steve do?Â
tsk tsk no words
To me, Apple already has the team and the philosophy to keep doing a tremendous great job and while I do think a “new” public face would be great (and as much as I trust Tim Cook as a great CEO), I absolutely disagree with the “living in Steve’s shadow” part. As a matter of fact, I think it should be quite the contrary. If people are going to fallow someone I think it is way easier to fallow someone that knew and work closely with “the man” than someone entirely new. And, I’m still not entirely sure about it, but something tells me Johnny Ive would be a nice pick for this one (public figure only, not leaving his roles as the senior vice president of design) – he sure looks and seems to share the same enthusiasm of Steve’s regarding Design and Apple itself.
Where do I send my resume?
Where do I send a Resume?
Maybe Steve Jobs widow should take over as Chairman or member of the board and maybe one of his children. Steve Jobs was a genius and Jonathan Ive would be great in that role.
But the team Jobs builded we can only hope will do as much as they can to live in the “Jobs” world. Maybe it can be smart to pick someone outside Apple, but I think it will be smarter to pick someone inside Apple who know how Apple thinks and know how Jobs did think.
The board is solid, except for the token loon, Al Gore.
What about Steve Wozniak? Â Any chance that he will ever return to Apple in any role?
Carlos Slim