“Apple Inc. board members defended the company’s disclosure last month of a medical leave by Chief Executive Steve Jobs, whose absence from the company’s shareholder meeting Wednesday underscored the prospect of leadership succession at the computer maker,” Ben Charny reports for Dow Jones Newswires.

“‘We believe we have met all disclosure obligations,’ Genentech Inc. CEO Arthur Levinson told shareholders. Levinson has been an Apple board member since 2000,” Charny reports. “The meeting is the first that Jobs, a co-founder of the company, has missed in a decade. In addition to Jobs’ absence, Google Inc. CEO and Apple board member Eric Schmidt wasn’t at the meeting.”

“At Wednesday’s meeting, Jobs was re-elected to the board of directors, as were seven other members. Although Jobs was absent, shareholders sang “Happy Birthday” to him, as he celebrated his birthday earlier this week,” Charny reports. “The give-and-take between board members and shareholders went little beyond what is already known about Jobs’ health. Similarly, little news was given on succession plans for the company’s top leadership.”

“Intuit Inc. Chairman William Campbell, an Apple director since 1997, and Levinson were chosen as co-lead directors,” Charny reports. “Also re-elected were Jobs, a board member since 1997; Gore, a board member since 2003; J. Crew Group Inc. Chief Executive Millard Drexler, a director since 1999; Avon Products Inc. Chief Executive Andrea Jung, a director since 2008; Schmidt, a director since 2006; and venture capitalist Jerome York, a member since 1997. “

Charny reports, “A request for Apple to allow shareholders to express their opinion on senior executive compensation was voted down. So were proposals for Apple to be more transparent about corporate political donations, to call for universal health care and to disclose more about its carbon footprint.”

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