The election of former Vice President Al Gore to Apple’s Board of Directors just raises more questions about Apple’s governance, Alex Salkever writes in his latest Byte of the Apple column for Business Week Online.
Though Gore is a “savvy politician with a keen interest in technology and culture” who popularized the term “information superhighway,” he doesn’t belong on Apple’s board, he opines. Why? “With its stock price down over the past two years, the last thing Apple shareholders want or need is a celebrity director with zero business experience, aside from the business of fund-raising and politicking,” Salkever says. “Gore might make a wonderful contribution to Apple in some other capacity. But Jobs & Co. should think long and hard about the message it sends to shareholders with this appointment.”
In fact, the current Apple Board of Directors simply holds too many friends of Steve Jobs who allow the Apple CEO to have his own way, for better or worse, he adds. Though Salkever thinks that, overall, Jobs does a fine job, “Apple is a public company, and even corporate legends must be accountable to their shareholders.”
As for Gore, the columnist says that he may be able to open doors in Washington, but could do that as a special counsel to Apple.
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