Who will replace Eric Schmidt on Apple's board?
Tim Cook. Photo: Apple Inc.
Now that Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple's (AAPL) board of directors — something that actually happened last Friday, according to Apple's form 8-K filing with the SEC — who will replace him?
Names of potential nominees have already started to pour in. Tim Cook — who ran Apple during both of Steve Jobs' medical leaves — would be our first choice, and he's the leading vote getter in 9to5Mac's reader poll (with 674 of 1,994 votes as of Tuesday morning).
Meanwhile, the newly revived Fake Steve Jobs spent Monday pretending to take calls from an even wider (and a lot funnier) field of candidates, from Henry Louis Gates (looking pretty silly on a Martha's Vineyard trike) to former Apple hardware chief and current Palm (PALM) CEO Jon Rubinstein (pictured with a Pre).
Below the fold: our handcapping some of the more serious the names we've seen so far.
- Tim Cook. Apple COO. Nobody knows more about Apple's operations — even Steve Jobs — but with Jobs already at the table, the board may want an outsider.
- Steve Wozniak. Apple co-founder. A sentimental favorite (and 9to5Mac's second highest vote getter), but he brings little to the table besides his name.
- Larry Ellison. Oracle CEO. A old crony of Jobs', but he may be better known for his great wealth and extravagant lifestyle than his boardroom acumen.
- Steve Spielberg. Co-founder of Dreamworks. No computer experience to speak of, but as one of America's most powerful directors, he could strengthen Apple's ties with Hollywood.
- Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook CEO. Not much stage presence, but he would bring his social networking expertise, something Apple seems to lack.
- Lee Clow. Chairman of TBWA\Worldwide. Co-creator of the 1984 Macintosh ad and the Think Different slogan (also the Energizer Bunny). He was one of 9to5Mac's nominees, but is marketing skill something Apple lacks these days?
- Yong Nam, CEO LG Electronics. Another 9to5Mac nominee, this one may make more sense. He is, according to CNN.com, one of the top three players in the global electronics industry.
Here, for the record, are the current members of Apple's board:
- Bill Campbell, chairman and former CEO of Intuit
- Millard Drexler, CEO J. Crew
- Al Gore, Former vice president of the United States
- Steve Jobs, Apple CEO
- Andrea Jung. CEO Avon Products
- Arthur Levinson, chairman Genentech
- Jerry York, CEO Harwinton Capital
I'm actually more interested in who else is, or should be going, than who may be coming in. I expect the drumbeat for Levinson to follow Schmidt to continue to increase, and I think all Apple fans wonder how much longer Campbell can survive as the fiasco that is Intuit on the Mac continues to unravel.
Ellison was kicked off the board once for leaking information; I expect he will not be coming back. At 79, he's a little long in the tooth for it, but my favorite dark horse candidate would be Roy E. Disney. The more I think about, the more he fits. On the other hand, I think the front runner by a wide margin is "nobody", since there's no real reason to keep a particular number of people on a board unless it's in the articles of incorporation as a requirement.
What sort of experience and executive oversight does Apple need in the boardroom?
R&D, Engineering and design? Check. Apple has this in spades.
Consumer marketing and sales? Check.
Retail operations? Check.
Enterprise marketing and sales? Crickets!
Apple's next board member should be someone with Ellison's experience and connections, but with less personal volatility and less potential for conflicts of interest.
Is Louis Gerstner willing and available?
Tim Cook. – No as you point out, he is an Apple insider, a staff member if you will. NO on this one
Larry Ellison. No. Been there done that. He wouldn't accept unless Steve really really wants him. Actually I don't think he brings anything Apple needs
Steve Spielberg. Maybe … He could be a good choice but NO. Apple already has ties to Hollywood in Steve Jobs, the biggest shareholder of Disney. Spielberg could be good though and if not him someone else from Hollywood.
Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook CEO. Hmm, could be but then again could be a future competitor
Lee Clow. NO he or his company is a contractor to Apple unless he is retired now but that could still be a problem if Apple is hiring his ex-company.
Yong Nam, CEO LG Electronics. NO, they make phones don't they?
Perhaps the CEO of Best Buy – Apple has relationship with them. Perhaps the CEO of Target or maybe even Hasbro (tie to Hollywood too). Someone with good retail, marketing experience.
and how about a member from Education? or a top industrialist?
You need someone who knows tech in general and Apple in particular, who is a strong Apple supporter, and who has high intelligence and a real creative streak.
My suggestion: Guy Kawasaki.
ex ped: Fake Steve Jobs had the same thought. Here's his transcript of their conversation:
"So Guy Kawasaki calls … And he's like, Steve? Don't hang up, okay? I'm serious. Don't hang up. Steve? Steve? Oh! Goddammit!"
How about someone in the Space industry! Apple could sure boost its profile on the Space Station!