August 3, 2009: Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board of administrators amidst growing competitors between the 2 corporations.
The basis of the issue? The rising feud over Android’s encroachment on iOS as the 2 smartphone platforms battle for dominance.
Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple board
“Eric has been an excellent board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful,” says Steve Jobs in a press launch saying Schmidt’s resignation. “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses … Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s board.”
Schmidt’s tenure on the Apple board was not an particularly lengthy one. He joined on August 29, 2006, the 12 months earlier than the iPhone launch.
“Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple’s board of directors,” Jobs stated on the time. “Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric’s insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead.”
Apple and Google’s collision course
Each inside and outdoors the boardroom, Jobs demanded loyalty from Apple board members. This often led to accusations that they weren’t fairly as impartial and vocal as some would really like.
Bringing the pinnacle of a competing tech powerhouse into Apple’s enterprise proved too difficult. Regardless of initially working in numerous companies, by the mid-2000s there was appreciable crossover between Apple and Google.
Essentially the most notable space was the businesses’ motion into cellphones. Nonetheless, Apple and Google additionally constructed rival internet browsers (Safari and Chrome). They fielded rival photograph software program (iPhoto, which Apple changed with the Pictures app, and Picasa, which Google shut right down to deal with Google Pictures). They usually operated rival video companies (iTunes and YouTube).
The businesses have been clearly on a collision course. It appeared clear that Schmidt, sooner or later, should determine between his two roles.
Shut ties result in antitrust worries
There was an extra purpose for Schmidt’s resignation as properly. Earlier in 2009, The New York Occasions reported that the Federal Commerce Fee was investigating the shut ties between the boards at Apple and Google.
The explanation? A possible violation of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, which bars board participation from rival corporations in circumstances the place this might cut back competitors.
Finally, the Apple-Google relationship grew to become a lose-lose scenario for all concerned. If the 2 corporations labored too carefully collectively, regulators seen it as a possible antitrust violation. In the event that they competed in opposition to each other, Schmidt would wish to step out of Apple board conferences for more and more substantial intervals throughout discussions of confidential issues.
Eric Schmidt and Apple’s ‘thermonuclear war’ on Google
Ultimately, Jobs probably regretted his choice to convey Schmidt on board within the first place. Not lengthy after Schmidt left, Jobs threatened Google with “thermonuclear war” for allegedly ripping off the iPhone consumer interface for Android. With Schmidt having been on the Apple board throughout the improvement of the iPhone and iPad, Jobs felt he had let his guard down.
In some methods, this appeared like a repeat of Apple’s relationship with Microsoft within the Nineteen Eighties. Microsoft co-founder Invoice Gates labored on the Macintosh, solely to show round and launch his suspiciously related (and legally related) Home windows working system a couple of years later.