Competitor on Board of Directors
The individuals that make up the current board of directors run investment, financial software development, biotechnology, clothing, and Internet businesses. Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States is also a member. The experience and business knowledge that this mix of individuals provides is extremely valuable to Apple.
Another individual on the board is Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. We suspect that there are not many companies that have a direct competitor on their board of directors. The following items show areas where these companies may compete.
Google and .mac offer similar services -- contacts, mail, calendars, bookmark, and web publishing are provided by both companies (though Apple is only targeting Mac users for their product).
There have been rumors floating around that Google is researching the development of their own phone.
There have been rumors claiming that Google is working on their own Operating System. While this may be true, Google is likely working on a system for their internal use, not the general public. Anything is possible though.
Lets face it, the business world is tough. These companies are under a great deal of pressure to maintain and increase profits. While everyone on the board is sworn to secrecy, it is feasible that an individuals desire to succeed would limit their ability to keep secrets. Now I am not saying that Eric Schmidt is anything less than a great guy, but would Apple have minimized their risk in this area by pursuing an individual with whom they do not compete?
A more positive view would suggest this is a perfect match. The Apple and Google relationship can only be made stronger with Eric Schmidt on the board -- and who better to partner with than Google?
Leave a comment