AppleInsider Staff
According to a report on Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook is "actively seeking" new directors for the company's board as he relaxes the tech giant's laser focus in favor of support for existing products and new initiatives.
In a profile on his performance as successor to Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, The Wall Street Journal claims Cook is looking to add to the company's long-standing — and aging — eight-person board of directors.
The board includes seven outside directors, six of whom are over the age of 63. Four have been with Apple for more than a decade, while Intuit CEO Bill Campbell and J. Crew Group chief Millard S. "Mickey" Drexler have both served since the late 1990s.
As noted by the publication, the current board is known for its loyalty to Jobs, which could make things difficult for Cook as he reshapes Apple to better retain its lead in the marketplace. Overall, the Apple chief's recent moves are considered to be more in line with those of "normal" tech firm CEOs, a distinct departure from the way Jobs ran his company.
One former employee describes Cook as a "peacetime CEO," contrasting against Jobs, who was a "wartime CEO."
"The only thing that Steve cared about was creating great products. The company, the employees were only there to facilitate that goal," said a former employee. "Tim is much more worried about everything at the company."
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Wesley Hilliard
Charles Martin
90 Comments
Want to see that Intuit Campbell guy go and VP Gore. The others I don't know but Campbell was a friend of Steve, but he's a jerk at running Intuit and keep the Mac platform behind as far as possible. Gore? What possible contribution has he made, even if we are talking political clout. Zero.
As long as they don't base their decisions on "diversity" or any other forms of modern day discrimination, then I am in favor of this.
I've said this before, but being on the board of Apple sure sounds like winning a lottery ticket.
How often does the board have to meet? How many hours per year do the board members put in on average? How much of an input does the board really have?
I am much more in favor of a "wartime CEO", than a "peacetime CEO", but there's nothing that can be done about that since Jobs is no longer around of course, and Tim Cook has done a pretty good job so far.
Get rid of Gore. What expertise does he have in technology? And now that Apple has Lisa Jackson reporting directly to Cook they don't need an environmental guru on the board.
[quote name="Rogifan" url="/t/181246/tim-cook-reportedly-seeking-new-blood-for-apples-board-of-directors#post_2560554"]Get rid of Gore. What expertise does he have in technology? And now that Apple has Lisa Jackson reporting directly to Cook they don't need an environmental guru on the board.[/quote] Algorithms were named after him for a reason. Duh¡
Get rid of Phil Schiller first.