Apple on Tuesday moved to fill a critical vacancy left in the wake of the death of Steve Jobs.
The company announced it had appointed Arthur “Art” D. Levinson, chairman of biotech company Genentech and a longtime Apple board member, to the position of chairman, last occupied by Jobs.
“Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a public statement posted to Apple’s website. “He has been our longest serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders.”
Also, it’s worth mentioning that in the midst of the reported Google v. Apple spat over mobile that drove then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt from the board of Apple, Levinson himself resigned from the board of Google in 2009, apparently in a show of solidarity with Apple.
In addition, Apple announced another big name would be joining the board: Disney CEO Bob Iger, who led Disney’s $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar, Steve Jobs’ former company, in 2006.
“Apple has achieved unprecedented success by consistently creating high quality, truly innovative products, and I am extremely pleased to join the board of such a wonderful company,” Iger said in the statement. “Over the years, I have come to know and admire the management team, now ably led by Tim Cook, and I am confident they have the leadership and vision to ensure Apple’s continued momentum and success.”
Apple stock closed up 2.52 percent following the late Tuesday announcement.
