Apple today announced that Dr. Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, is resigning from Apple’s Board of Directors, a position he has held since August 2006.
“Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in the press release. “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.”
Source: Apple Inc.
Just on Friday, The Mercury News posted an interview with Schmidt that addresssed the Apple Board question. His response shows that up until very recently, Schmidt still thought he’d be able to remain on Apple’s Board. This leads us to believe that, despite the press release’s characterization of a “mutual” decision, ’twas Apple, not Schmidt, that decided it was time for him to go ‘bye ‘bye:
Q: Google and Apple are increasingly in the same businesses, namely operating systems for mobile phones and now with the announcement of the Chrome OS, personal computers. Is it also becoming increasingly problematic for you to be on Apple’s board?
A: I am not sure about the board question. The board question can be solved by recusing yourself, which I do with the iPhone. It is also important to remember that unlike Microsoft and Google, Apple and Google have a lot of technical partnerships. The underpinnings of Chrome are the same as that of Apple’s Safari browser. There is a lot of collaboration around Web standards. We collaborate on the maps area. We have a large number of iPhone apps. There are significant benefits to Apple and to Google for me to be on both boards with the caveat that you mentioned that you have to be very careful.
Full interview here.
MacDailyNews Take: Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, mole.
(Better late than never, but this should have happened the day Google announced Android.)
As an Apple shareholder, it’s about time!
What did he really do for Apple? Like MDN said, he IS a mole.
Bound to happen. He outlived his welcome.
Also a shareholder and I agree with his departure.
Took long enough.
i believe it would be disingenuous to be condescendingly dismissive of the disruptive value Google’s efforts have been to Apple
What do the BODs of most companies do?
I would like to see someone do a documentary on a company like Apple, show the board in action with full access. Suppress the footage for 5 or 6 years to protect strategic decisions. Then release it so the rest of the world can see what really goes on. My guess is nothing much, boards of directors are just another money grab for the wealthy, like hey Bill you put me on your board and I’ll put you on mine, we both get paid for getting together having a good meal and approving each others salary.
Al Gore next please.
Speaking as someone who works closely with my company’s Board, some Boards can be very intimately involved with operations and product plans. As an AAPL shareholder, I see this as good news.
Don’t let the door knob hit ya!!!!
Oops. Didn’t realize my take was the same as MDN”s.
Such cynacism..
Maybe we should fire Steve Jobs cause the company did not crash when he left, so he is not critical. ?????
Maybe we should become Microsoft, suspicious of everyone instead of making a great product.?????
A “good” board of directors bring their varied talents and opinions both good and bad to a general meeting to decide the best path for the company. Google and Apple have worked well together and while some of their products clash, its google maps on the iPhone and youtube, built-in. Does any one remember these early products that made the iPhone even better.
Just a thought.
en
Yes! Al Gore next. I agree.
Yes, it was about time.
Now if Apple would do something about that pesky Gore fella…..
Better late than never!
I believe it was the rejection of the Google Voice iPhone application that pushed the envelope. Finally.
I wonder if this also had anything to do with the FCC investigation that was launched over Google Voice being rejected from the App Store? Apple and AT&T;have to be pretty pissed that Google’s causing so much trouble for them.
Yes – definitely Al Gore next. Apple’s very own Monkeyboy.
Apple’s Beleaguered Board of Directors crippled again with exit of GOOGLE Giant.
I think him being on Apple’s board helped Apple and Google work together better, with google maps on the iphone etc.
I hope Apple and Google can still work together to continue the fight against the enimy up north.
Algore – Hahahahaha. That man made global warming maroon. Making millions off his company selling carbon offsets. Maybe not a such a maroon – just another slime-bag politician.
Don’t you guys know that some very good things came from Apples partnership with Google? Think Places in iPhoto. I really don’t think calling him names is productive.
Besides, Android is good for Apple and the iPhone. Android is the only real competitor with a real OS that can do half of what the iPhone can. The Pre is still limited to Web Apps. Blackberry/WinMo/Symbian all need a serious update under the hood. in 2001 Apple and Microsoft both released major new OS’s that completely overhauled their legacy software. Now, a decade later, PALM has just finished their limited overhaul of their OS, and WinMo 7 is still 2 years out. BB, I’m sure, has to be working on an overhaul as well, though I haven’t heard of one.
The only real Mobile OS’s right now are OS X and Android. Android has followed OSX in development so far, but it won’t take much stagnation on Apple’s part for Google to quickly surpass Apple in development. Google’s Android’s existance is good for Apple’s consumers.
As someone who works closely with directors of my business, a good board of directors can do much to shape a company. In our case, we are a venture capital-backed company. Our directors are mostly VCs, people with tremendous intelligence, insight and business experience. Their contacts are invaluable for opening doors to big business opportunities. Board members are often contacted by CEOs of large firms with which we want to do business, and their position and independence makes them perfect people for CEOs of prospect companies to ask tough questions about my company. The opportunities that have resulted have been tremendous for us.
In addition, a good board reins in a company and helps to focus it. We wanted to go in to too many directions, and without firm direction we received from our board, we might have done that – to our detriment. Our board holds us accountable for profit and budget targets, and while that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on us, it also sets standards for us to achieve. That’s important.
I doubt that Apple is much different.
That Eric Schmidt had to move on is pretty obvious, and as the article stated, it was Dr. Schmidt who knew that it was time to go. I tend to think that he was not a mole, because in a company as large and ambitious as Google, there were plenty of people who had initiatives for developing operating systems, browsers, etc. If they wanted to spy on Apple or anyone else, they could do so by other means. Technical details weren’t Dr. Schmidt’s specialty anyway. If he was truly spying, which I doubt, it would have blown up in other ways.
My point is this: if Eric Schmidt, or any other board member, added no value, Steve Jobs would have wasted no time in sending them packing. We’re not privy to the actual workings of the Apple board of directors. And contrary to MDN’s beliefs, I have a hunch that Google and Apple worked closely as a result.
Time to turn the page…
I agree that Al Gore should go. I think he was brought on to give some green image to Apple. But how about Bill Campbell from Intuit? He’s been there for several years and still we don’t have a good, feature equal version of Quicken and QuickBooks. What gives?
Since Google is now making it’s own OS for PC’s it’s sensible for Apple’s hair to prickle. Looking back on this, I agree with some that Apple should have dropped Eric off somewhere around the introduction of Android.
Too much hate is often sign of even more stupidity…
We may have Schmidt’s previous seat on the board to thank for YouTube compatibility on the iPhone.
Of course the decision was mutual. Schmidt is still alive isn’t he?
Isn’t he??? Oooooh…
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2 questions hope worthy of answers with lucid elaboration
(that means yap a while and make sense, ok?
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– What detailed specifics about Schmidt/Google/Chrome/etc is/are the concern/problem(s) ?
– Aside from maybe not voting for him (nor any “Libtard Demo”) nor liking his thermometer, what in particular do any of you have against Gore ?
Thanks
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BC
Apple & Google tango well, look at WebKit. The trouble with lovers is that their arguments can be very destructive, let’s hope they still dance together on the important stuff!
I notice that most of the “hate content” is written by the less articulate, containing the most spelling and grammatical errors, generally making no point other than Al Gore being a “maroon.”
Such insight!
I wonder if he had to recuse himself from the google board when matters of competition with Apple came up there?
I hope there are no hard feelings here. Apple and Google partnership have been good but with Google’s entry into the phone and browser business they have become competitors. Hopefully good relationship will remain.
Al Gore next.
Al gore simply adds no business judgment, or any other kind of judgment. He can only add two things: green streetcred, and political contacts. Green is overrated; Apple’s business focus–consumers–means government contacts are not that important. If Gore had any value, he would have prevented the ridiculous fishing expedition just launched by the FCC. Since he didn’t, he adds no value.
QED.
MDN take is on the money
Comments like “Don’t let the door hit you in the….” are thoughtless, childish & self-diminishing. I also don’t agree with you.
I don’t think he can add value if he has to recuse himself from 75% of board discussions, so it likely had to happen. I’d agree with some others, we should not dismiss the benefits this partnership brought our beloved platform and I hope they still work together going forward.
That said, I don’t think a guy as smart as Schmidt didn’t see this coming, you can’t start directly competing with the company whose board you sit on and be asked to keep hanging out in top secret discussions and strategy sessions.
They needed to make a spot for Tim Cook and with the FCC in Apple and Google’s ‘grill’ this was the best way to do it (Cook) and also remove the air from the FCC’s complaint.
I think this now leaves the FCC to focus on AT&T;more than Apple. They may say you can’t deny GV on the iPhone (FCC) and Schmidt being gone removes that conflict and it also is teh FCC telling AT&T;data is data, and I secretly think Apple wants this. Apple’s way of getting it’s way with AT&T;indirectly.
Just my .03… well maybe .03
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“I notice that most of the “hate content” is written by the less articulate, containing the most spelling and grammatical errors, generally making no point other than Al Gore being a “maroon.”
Such insight!”
Maroon was purposefully spelled incorrectly – Fool!
Show me the mistakes – in context. Moron… Is that more to your liking?
@auramac
Here at MDN, the use and spelling of “maroon” as a faux-naif solecism has historical praxis.
– In other words it’s a traditional in-joke.
Buh-Bye Eric.
They should dump the Quicken guy and Algore while they are at it. I fail to see what the former brings to the table……
Keep Al Gore. His gravitas and knowledge about the workings of government appear to be a real asset to Apple.
Well played Schmidt. Leave in the midst of the mayhem from Apple rejecting those Google apps and make it seem like their increasingly anti-competitive behavior had something to do with it. Already that’s the story on all the (non-Apple) blogs.
Apple needs to dump pseudo-environmentalist Al Gore from its board next. His decisions in several areas have been catastrophic.
@Dan Scanlan
Yes, please tell us which of Al Gore’s decisions on the board of directors sent Apple crashing to its knees. (well aside from the CEO diet & exercies plan he recommended.
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Nobody seems to be getting what is really happening. This is the equivalent of one country sending the ambassadors of another company home right before they plan to invade. This really means that Google and Apple are about to go to war and this is the last thing to be done before the shooting starts. Just watch.
@HMCIV
LOL! Lot of sour grapes here, can’t get past Gore’s politics. I suppose the same thing would happen to Jobs were he to run for office, people are gods until they disagree with you on one or two key issues.
Exactly MDN, competition ISN’T good, when they lack their own innovation, and surprisingly, somehow, come up with almost exactly what you offer. The FCC received no complaints about GV, yet decides to investigate just because? Sure. Google was poaching Apples IP because Google is a one-trick pony. “But they make great apps!” FREE – is the magic word, other businesses that love Google should also give away free things and see how long they last. My problem with Google is, they create free apps to undermine the market AND create revenue through advertising. If Google charged, that would be fair competition. “competition is good” – that’s not competition, if you lost your home and business because a ‘competitor’ was giving away all free products, it would be easier to see the ‘anti-competitive’ practices.
I tend side with the many anti-Gore people here due to his hypocritical and misleading <strike>Global Warming</strike> Climate Change garbage.
However, I have no idea what contributions he has for Apple’s board and I wouldn’t dismiss him out-of-hand. I would think that maybe the strongest reason Al Gore should go is because he’s too political. Pick your favorite republican / conservative and I’d probably agree that they’d need to go too, just from a PR perspective.
Businesses should be non-political and just do business.
So, who is going to replace him?
Jerry Wang? Nah! Don’t want to see him doing his own version of the monkey dance to “search, search, search.”
Billy Boy (AKA “Turtle Boy”) Gates? Nah! He apparently only reads about the tech industry once a year at a cabin by a lake in Howard Hughesian fashion.
Woz? I think they have a “No Segways or Erector Sets in the Board Room” policy at Apple.
I know!!! Rob Enderle! Just do the exact opposite of whatever he suggests and Apple will be golden! (yeah, pun intended)
leaves me wondering how much he gave versus how much he took?
Even if Eric Schmidt was a totally honorable person who would never take unfair advantage of his position on Apple’s board (and that is, by definition, a very big “if” in this dog-eat-dog world), his continuation in that capacity has clearly become untenable. Apple would have been insane to let this continue; and if Eric Schmidt was really a totally honorable person, he would have resigned without being asked.
@HazMatt “I tend side with the many anti-Gore people here due to his hypocritical and misleading Global Warming Climate Change garbage.”
You don’t believe Global Warming or Climate Change is occurring; or you just want to take a verbal shot at Gore?
@Macrelated
Since you asked, I’ll clarify. I have been skeptical of MAN-MADE Global Warming. I do not deny that climate changes, but I challenge the notion that man has any real influence over the change in the weather to any measurable degree. I’m told by the environmentalists that CO2 emissions must be limited as though it was a poisonous gas (as though every breathing human is, by nature, harming the Environment just by living). I was taught in public school years ago that there was a hole in the ozone layer that was spreading and would give us all skin cancer if we didn’t act. Why don’t we hear about the hole in the ozone layer anymore? And our parents (I’m 30) were taught as children about the impending ice age… The Cooling World.
I’m not a scientist, but I find it more likely that fluctuations in the sun are more influential than anything else when it comes to the temperature of the earth.
For Al Gore to get on his pedestal and point the finger at greedy Americans and their big cars and air-conditioned homes… I just find it hypocritical that his ‘carbon footprint’ is much larger than the rest of the population and yet he is preaching restraint.
So… am I a denier? No. Skeptic? Yes. Did I take a shot at Gore? Yes, but you left out the part where I was actually being pretty ‘bipartisan’:
“…I wouldn’t dismiss him out-of-hand. I would think that maybe the strongest reason Al Gore should go is because he’s too political. Pick your favorite republican / conservative and I’d probably agree that they’d need to go too, just from a PR perspective.”
HazMatt
Because many here are apparently Reading Comprehension Challenged – will post these same comments at all the Schmidt Stories, in hopes the repetition might possibly enhance your ability to understand.
On Schmidt …
Everyone’s just pokin’ and hopin’ – Some are more hope than poke, and few give any detailed specifics.
Since a picture is worth 1,000 words – looks like Joy of Tech comes closest with their “explanations”
Least on the Google Voice, but probably applies to the story in general
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/index.html
Now, let’s talk about Gore, but with this one rule …
In order to say anything about Gore you must be a Vet from either WW2, Korea, Nam, to Gulf War 1 or 2
And you must have been “In Country” even if it was “in the rear with the gear” writing for Stars and Stripes
Or you must have at least been subject to The Draft – the Real One that could have put you in The Shit
If you’re a Senator’s Son whose Daddy got you out of The Shit via National Guard
(and there are still lingering questions if you ever showed up for that ? )
Well, just declare “Mission Accomplished” then go work on some nucular initiatives
We are Americans and we will always place Great Value on Service to Community and Nation
Talk is cheap, you must do something – and not something for sake of money, ego, or to avoid any hassles
It must be selfless, with charity and intended thoughts of helping others, not for yourself
And like the Boy Scout helping Lil ol’ Lady across street – if anyone sees you do it, it don’t count
So, if you qualify under this “rule” ?
Then chime in with some smart ass remarks
And we’ll go from there
BC
YOUR FIRED!!!!!!!!
@BC Kelly
You have some great points but could you try posting your comments in a normal manner? This isn’t a college essay and your formatting takes up way too much space.
Damn user, least smile when you say that …
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This is my normal manner, sorry for any extra scrolls you’ve had to make to get past my poetic drivel
Ok ? …
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BC
(and if you ever really got away with turning in a college essay written in style I used above, then I’d love to have THAT professor, would be a hoot)
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