Google's Schmidt says he's a 'very proud former board member' of Apple [u]

In a new interview, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt complimented the job Steve Jobs did as Apple's chief executive, and said he considers himself a "very proud" former member of Apple's board of directors [updated].

Schmidt's comments came during a question-and-answer session with Salesforce.com Chief Executive Marc Benioff. Schmidt stepped down from the Apple board in 2009, as Google continued to encroach on Apple's businesses with Android and Chrome OS.

Updated: The original Bloomberg story contained a misquote and was later updated to fix the error. AppleInsider has updated its story accordingly.

"I was on the board until I couldn't stay on the board anymore," Schmidt reportedly said.

Once close partners, Apple and Google have become fierce rivals since devices running the Google Android mobile operating system began competing with Apple's iPhone.

"We did not enter the search business; they entered the phone business," Jobs allegedly said of Google during a company meeting in 2010. "Make no mistake, Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won't let them."

The Google chairman of Google also offered praise about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who recently resigned as CEO.

"It's certainly the best performance of a CEO in 50 years," Schmidt reportedly said. "We've all benefited from the tremendous innovation at Apple. And I say this as a very proud former board member at Apple."

Earlier this year, Schmidt was replaced as Google CEO by Larry Page, one of the founders of the search giant. Schmidt now serves as the company's executive chairman, handling deals, partnerships, customers, business relationships, and government outreach.

97 Comments

sirozha 801 comments · 15 Years

About 13 years ago

"I was on the board until I couldn't stand the board anymore."
"We've all benefited from the tremendous innovation at Apple. And I say this as a very proud former board member at Apple."

No kidding! What a jerk.

canucklehead 401 comments · 18 Years

Clearly, what he couldn't stand was being surrounded by so many great ideas and yet not be able to claim them as his own. If he didn't look like such a weasel, you could call him a douche but I think douche is too cool of a term when used to describe this dork.

argonaut 128 comments · 21 Years

"I was on the board until.... I'd stolen all the info I needed to help us transform Android into an iPhone copycat!..." (allegedly)

Tosser!

cvaldes1831 1832 comments · 15 Years

Makes sense. The changing relationship between Google and Apple forced Schmidt to be excused from an increasing number of discussions due to conflict of interest. Now that the iPhone generates well over half of Apple's revenue, he probably would have been asked to step away from a large percentage of board discussions about Apple's business strategy, as well as the iPad, Apple TV, and perhaps the entire iTunes Store/iCloud ecosystem.

bobringer 106 comments · 23 Years

This story is 100% incorrect.

The ORIGINAL headline said "stand" (I think it was AP).

They corrected it to say something like, "I stayed on the board as long as I could until I couldn't stay anymore."

He went on to praise his time on the Apple board and it was clear that he "left" for competitive reasons and not because he "couldn't stand" being on Apple's board.