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…