The election did not come as a surprise, as there are no currently controversial members of the company’s board of directors. Eric Schmid, Google CEO, was the closest thing to a controversial member, but he resigned his position in 2009.
When asked by a shareholder if Mr. Schmidt had behaved properly during his tenure at Apple, Dow Jones reported that Mr. Jobs defended him saying, “Eric Schmidt conducted himself appropriately and recused himself on matters that might involve conflict.”
Such a defense may sound at odds with other recent comments about Google attributed to Mr. Jobs, when he attacked the company for going into markets where Apple was already established. He also reportedly said that Google’s mantra of “Don’t Be Evil” was “a load of crap.”
When it came to issues of board propriety, however, it would seem that Mr. Schmidt’s actions were appropriate in Mr. Jobs’s eyes.
Shares in Apple moved higher in the mid-afternoon trading session Thursday, trading at US$202.17, $1.514 (+0.75%), on strong volume as of this writing.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.