Current Apple board member and Genentech CEO Arthur D. Levinson has been named non-executive Chairman of Apple’s board, the company just announced. Levinson, a PhD, has served on the board since 2000 and as co-lead director since 2005. Disney CEO Bob Iger will also be joining and serving on the board’s audit committee. These are the first board changes since the death of Apple Co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs.
“Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board,” said current Apple CEO Tim Cook in a release, “His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple.”
Iger and Jobs have had a relationship since 2006, when Disney bought Pixar at a valuation of $7.4 billion, making Jobs the largest Disney shareholder. In accepting a seat on the board, Iger will be joining Cook, Intuit’s William Campbell, J.Crew’s Millard S. Drexler, Albert Gore, Jr., Avon’s Andrew Jung, and Northop’s Ronald Sugar.