Google CEO resigns from Apple’s Board of Directors

August 3, 2009 – 12:30 pm – No Comment

Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, resigned from Apple’s board of directors today due to the two companies having very similar interests. Both companies are gearing up for a rivalry in the mobile phone industry that could get quite heated.

Although it is said that his departure from the board was a mutual decision, the move was made after United States regulators launched an investigation into whether or not Schmidt’s place on the board violated US Antitrust laws.

Schmidt has been on the board since August 2006. His role came under scrutiny once Google started encroaching on Apple’s market with both mobile phones as well as desktop PC software. Once Google announced that it would be coming out with its own operating system, it likely became the last straw. Schmidt has left the board just a month after that announcement was made.

Up until the Chrome OS announcement was made, whenever there was a board meeting at Apple, Schmidt would only excuse himself from the meetings when they would begin talking about the iPhone. However, now that the Chrome OS announcement has been made, he would have to excuse himself whenever Leopard came up also. This would greatly diminish his effectiveness as a board member according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

This is from Apple’s press release:

“Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, 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.”

Apple and Google have been at each other for awhile when it comes to mobile phones. Even when Schmidt excuses himself from the meetings once the iPhone comes up, it is easy to see how the two sides are bitter rivals in some sense. The Android mobile operating system is gearing up to be one of the most dominant mobile operating systems on the market. Another problem comes from Apple and the company’s issue with the Google Voice App.