Neil Hughes
Members of Apple's Board of Directors are sometimes informed about new products up to a year and a half before they are unveiled to the public, the board's chairman has revealed.
Arthur D. Levinson, former CEO of Genentech and current chairman of Apple's board, spoke at the Stanford Graduate School of Business on Tuesday. In his comments, summarize by Fortune, he revealed that Apple's board does not usually have much input in the creation of the company's products.
Members of the board are typically presented with new Apple products 6 to 18 months before they are revealed publicly, Levinson said. He added that if a product is shown to the board with enough time before launch, sometimes the opinions of board members are taken into account with the final product.
In addition, he said if a board member has expertise in a specific area related to a product, their opinion may wield more influence. But beyond that, he said a good board will not get in the way of a company's CEO or executive team.
"The board is not there to define product specs," Levinson told the students at Stanford. "It's there as a sounding board, it's there as a resource, and ultimately, the board is there to hire and fire the CEO."
Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once publicly referred to input from the board on new products when unveiling the clip-on iPod nano in 2010. In unveiling the small touchscreen device, Jobs revealed that one of the members of the Apple board planned to use it as a wristwatch.
Those plans proved prescient: A number of accessories that turned the sixth-generation iPod nano into a wristwatch would eventually hit the market, though Apple never made such an accessory itself.
Levinson was named the chairman of the Apple Board of Directors in November of 2011, following the passing of company co-founder Steve Jobs. Levinson has served as co-lead director on Apple's board since 2005, and has served on three board committees — audit and finance; nominating and corporate governance; and compensation.
In addition to serving on Apple's board, Levinson is also chairman of Genentech., Inc., a biotech firm he led as chief executive from 1995 to 2009. He's also a member of the board of directors at pharmaceutical firm Roche.
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41 Comments
TMI, especially from a board member. I don't need to know this information and board members should be keeping this information secret. Of course, this now makes sense why Google got such a big step with mobile devices and why Steve Jobs was so mad. They had a year to work things out before everybody else found out about the iPhone.
TMI, especially from a board member. I don't need to know this information and board members should be keeping this information secret. Of course, this now makes sense why Google got such a big step with mobile devices and why Steve Jobs was so mad. They had a year to work things out before everybody else found out about the iPhone.
Yep, that was really a snakey thing Schmidt did to Apple!
Yep, that was really a snakey thing Schmidt did to Apple!
Probably for "years" Google knew Apple is thinking about a phone with a touchscreen and no keypad.
I think Google also knew Apple is a closed ecosystem and there is demand for an "open" platform that Google could control.
This tidbit, while surprising from an Apple perspective, is unsurprising given the source. When Levinson was at Genentech, he was known as a genuine, honest and inspiring mentor, along with being a brilliant scientist. He encouraged the younger scientists to stay on and hold on to their stock options during Genentech's darker days. Quite a few may not be millionaires today without his advice. All to say, this sort of honest, anecdotal and yet unrevealing insight is what his friends and acquaintances expect from him.
[quote name="rob53" url="/t/156083/new-products-are-presented-to-apples-board-6-18-months-prior-to-launch#post_2281093"]Of course, this now makes sense why Google got such a big step with mobile devices and why Steve Jobs was so mad. They had a year to work things out before everybody else found out about the iPhone. [/quote] [quote name="christopher126" url="/t/156083/new-products-are-presented-to-apples-board-6-18-months-prior-to-launch#post_2281098"]Yep, that was really a snakey thing Schmidt did to Apple! [/quote] Based on how long it took Google to come to market with Android, what it looked like even right after the announcement of the iPhone, and how poor of an OS it was when it finally launched I have a hard time believing Schmidt stole anything relevant to give to Google.