Apple Inc has named Arthur Levinson, a long-time board member, as a non-executive Chairman of the Board. Levinson is the chairman and former CEO of Genentech Inc. He had been an Apple board member since the year 2000 and chose to be loyal to Apple over Google by resigning from the Google board two months after Eric Schmidt resigned from the Apple board as the two companies became competitors.
“Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “He has been our longest-serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders.”
Robert Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Co., was also appointed to the board as a director, cementing ties with Disney. Iger, as president and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, oversaw the acquisition of Pixar, which made Jobs a Disney board member and its largest shareholder.
