Apple SVP Eddy Cue
Eddy Cue, a 23-year Apple veteran and the company’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, has joined the board of directors of Italian automotive company Ferrari, the company announced Wednesday as part of its fourth quarter results.
Mr. Cue has been heavily involved in the creation of many of Apple’s flagship software and online services, including Apple’s online store in 1998, the iTunes Music Store, the iOS and Mac App Stores, the iBookstore, and Apple’s iLife suite of consumer applications. Mr. Cue will now also be overseeing iOS services Siri and Maps following the departure of Apple executive Scott Forstall.
“I am delighted that Eddy Cue, one of the main driving forces behind Apple’s range of revolutionary products, has now joined our board. His huge experience in the dynamic, innovative world of the Internet will be of great assistance to us,” Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s Chairman, told the board and shareholders.
Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo
Image via TopNews.in
“I am pleased and proud to become a member of the board. I have personally dreamed of owning a Ferrari since I was 8 years old and have been lucky to be an owner for the past 5 years. I continue to be awed by the world-class design and engineering that only Ferrari can do," Mr. Cue said of his nomination to the board.
Mr. Cue’s appointment to the board of directors is not the first time that Apple and Ferrari have mingled. Mr. di Montezemolo revealed in April 2012 that he had met with Apple CEO Tim Cook. While the details remain unknown, Mr. di Montezemolo later said of the meeting that he was “impressed” by the “availability and openness” of Mr. Cook.
“We’re building cars, they build computers,” he said. "But Apple and Ferrari are connected by the same passion, the same love for the product, maniacal attention to technology, but also to design.”
The industry will now be watching closely to see if Mr. Cue’s new appointment facilitates future cooperation between the two high-end companies.