Apple Undergoes Its Biggest Board Shakeup In Years (fortune.com) 21
Mark Gurman reports via Bloomberg: In one of Apple's biggest board shake-ups in years (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source), longtime directors Al Gore and James Bell will be retiring from the company, with former Aerospace Corp. Chief Executive Officer Wanda Austin coming aboard. The company made the announcement Thursday, citing a policy of directors not standing for reelection after the age of 75. Bell, a former Boeing Co. executive, joined the Apple board in 2015, while former US Vice President Gore has been a director for more than two decades. Both men are 75.
The upheaval is unusual for Apple's board, which rarely has more than one retirement at a time. Gore was the longest-serving member -- having joined in 2003, when co-founder Steve Jobs was CEO and the iPhone didn't yet exist. "Al has contributed an incredible amount to our work -- from his unconditional support for protecting our users' privacy, to his incomparable knowledge of environment and climate issues," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "James's dedication has been extraordinary, and we're thankful for the important perspectives and deep expertise he's offered on audit, finance, and so much more over the years."
Austin, the new nominee, has a significant track record of "advancing innovation and shaping corporate strategy," Apple said. She has long been a major proponent of US space exploration efforts, though that's not an area that Apple is directly involved in. She will be up for election at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Feb. 28. In spite of the age policy, another director, Ronald Sugar, is turning 76 this year and not slated to leave the board. Apple said that Sugar is remaining "in consideration of the significant recent transitions in board composition and the value of retaining directors who have developed deep insights into the company during their tenure." Given Apple's rationale for retaining Sugar, it's unclear if the policy will apply to Chairman Arthur Levinson, who turns 75 next year.
The upheaval is unusual for Apple's board, which rarely has more than one retirement at a time. Gore was the longest-serving member -- having joined in 2003, when co-founder Steve Jobs was CEO and the iPhone didn't yet exist. "Al has contributed an incredible amount to our work -- from his unconditional support for protecting our users' privacy, to his incomparable knowledge of environment and climate issues," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "James's dedication has been extraordinary, and we're thankful for the important perspectives and deep expertise he's offered on audit, finance, and so much more over the years."
Austin, the new nominee, has a significant track record of "advancing innovation and shaping corporate strategy," Apple said. She has long been a major proponent of US space exploration efforts, though that's not an area that Apple is directly involved in. She will be up for election at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Feb. 28. In spite of the age policy, another director, Ronald Sugar, is turning 76 this year and not slated to leave the board. Apple said that Sugar is remaining "in consideration of the significant recent transitions in board composition and the value of retaining directors who have developed deep insights into the company during their tenure." Given Apple's rationale for retaining Sugar, it's unclear if the policy will apply to Chairman Arthur Levinson, who turns 75 next year.
Wow. That's half the board. (Score:1)
Not counting Tim Cook, the two people who are retiring plus the two who are maybe staying on beyond their expected retirement age are fully half the board of directors. Here's hoping that the replacement process pick people with a clue, and that we don't end up with people focusing on short-term profits over long-term sustainable revenue and growth.
As a stockholder, I'd really like for the nominees to say something about what they bring to the table, and what their thoughts are on Apple's future before I
You and I have different definitions of "1 trick" (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple hasn't focused on anything except short term profits for over a decade now. despite all their money and success they are still entirely a one trick pony as indicated by their share pull back from sales slowdown for that pony.
Hmm, one trick?...you're referring to the iPhone?...one of the best selling and most profitable phones of all time?...or completely dominating the tablet space? having the best-selling laptop?...or are you talking about their massively profitable App Store or various cloud services that fans loyally shell out way too much money, which they make a huge profit on and barely have to market?
I think few companies throughout recorded history could match the position Apple is in now. They're highly profitable, well-loved, have a huge marketshare, and have an irrationally loyal fan base that will spend any dollar amount for any product they put out. The Vision Pro?...so far it's a solution looking for a problem and I wager it'll sell in numbers far beyond what anyone predicted nor what it should.
The shine on Apple may be declining...ever so slightly...but nothing compared to their rivals. Google, Dell, and Samsung with they were in Apple's shoes.
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Hmm, one trick?...you're referring to the iPhone?...one of the best selling and most profitable phones of all time?...or completely dominating the tablet space? having the best-selling laptop?...or are you talking about their massively profitable App Store or various cloud services that fans loyally shell out way too much money, which they make a huge profit on and barely have to market?
You are kind of making his point. Most of what you refer to is a side effect of the iPhone, peripheral or derivative.
I think few companies throughout recorded history could match the position Apple is in now.
This is pretty much what everyone says before massive innovation and disruption hits a global leader. Think sort of thinking, especially inside the global leader, is part of what contributes to the downfall. A combination of resting on one's laurels, failure to recognize the important technological innovation, or if the innovation is recognized moving too slow due to size and bureaucratic ine
Who is doing better? (Score:2)
Hmm, one trick?...you're referring to the iPhone?...one of the best selling and most profitable phones of all time?...or completely dominating the tablet space? having the best-selling laptop?...or are you talking about their massively profitable App Store or various cloud services that fans loyally shell out way too much money, which they make a huge profit on and barely have to market?
You are kind of making his point. Most of what you refer to is a side effect of the iPhone, peripheral or derivative.
I think few companies throughout recorded history could match the position Apple is in now.
This is pretty much what everyone says before massive innovation and disruption hits a global leader. Think sort of thinking, especially inside the global leader, is part of what contributes to the downfall. A combination of resting on one's laurels, failure to recognize the important technological innovation, or if the innovation is recognized moving too slow due to size and bureaucratic inefficiency.
The mac has a following independent of the iPhone. The mac gained lots of marketshare among Android users in the last 20 years. The same applies to the iPad. I actually prefer Android to iOS and even 5 years ago, conceded that Android tablets are garbage in comparison. I wanted an Android tablet, but the hardware was unimpressive, poorly supported by the manufacturers, and even if one were to buy one, I am not confident Android tablet apps are all that well supported (although I admit I could be wrong o
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The mac has a following independent of the iPhone.
Exactly. And it's a secondary market for Apple. Hence Apple being thought of as a smartphone company in recent decades.
Some stores sell Samsung models, but I've never actually seen one in the wild...none on the subway or a coffee shop.
They are bought by Android phone app developers to test on. :-)
Is Apple resting on their laurels? I suppose no one can know in the moment, but comparing them to their competitors, I would challenge you....if Apple is resting on their laurels, who is not?
My point is not really about resting on laurels, it is that the smartphone market is larger. Perhaps not so much in terms of the number of users in the US but in terms of sales. Sales being greater since smartphones are upgraded far more often.
Which companies are innovating more in the laptop, phone, or tablet space?
For computers the Apple Silicon Macs are clearly leading, however they are handicapped
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Hmm, one trick?...you're referring to the iPhone?...one of the best selling and most profitable phones of all time?
I guess they are popular, but so were Nokia phones in their era, as was the Blackberry a few years later. OK, the iPhone as a single model might be popular, but iOS is still being trounced by the Android OS.
In 2023, Android is by far the dominant smartphone platform, with 70.8% market share globally against Apple's 28.4%
You do know that Samsung by itself sold more phones in 2023 than all the iPhones sold that year?
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Right now it's hard for me to see what Apple's "next big thing" would be, and it seems to be hard for them too. The watch and the goggles seem to be grasping but not "it." A self-driving car would certainly would have been "it" had they pulled it off, bu
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Apple had been making huge profits for many years and had a very bright future before they started focusing more on short-term profits. I don't have time to enumerate all of the actions they took to prioritize short-term profits over their customers, but this video on YouTube [youtube.com] is a pretty good start. Of course,
Not a bad thing (Score:3)
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40 years ago, those 60-70+ years olds on the board today WERE the 25-35 year-olds employeed in the company.
Experience, acquired knowledge, and maturity count for much.
So losing Al Gore, inventor of the internet..... (Score:2)
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hey! he gave them "unconditional support for protecting our users' privacy" and "his incomparable knowledge of environment and climate issues"!
that must be worth something! at the very least it's comedy gold!
Does the board matter? (Score:2)
I can see how Tim Cook makes decisions that affect Apple in many ways. What does the board do? Does it do anything other than rubber stamping what company executives decide (Come to think of it, does the board even do that?)? I imagine that the board makes a difference in smaller companies with power struggles, like Open AI. However, for very large corporations, the board holds power power in the sense that King Charles holds power, and board members hold their positions at the discretion of whoever rea