Google/Apple board shake-up continues

Apple Vs Google

Just as Eric Schmidt stepped down from Apple's board in August due to a 'conflict of interest', now Arthur Levinson has resigned from the Google board for similar reasons.

The two companies that have previously shared board members have become increasingly competitive in recent months with both companies striving for dominance in the mobile market. Google are currently trying to launch their own smart-phone to compete with Apple's popular iPhone.

The companies have previously clashed when Google introduced their operating system Chrome as a direct rival to Mac OS. Apple, in turn, blocked Google Voice(mail) as an application of the iPhone. It is this constant rivalry that meant Eric Schmidt had to step down to avoid a conflict of interest and why the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating the 'sharing' of board members.

Currently in the US, no-one is allowed to serve on the boards of two companies which are direct rivals, but with Levinson stepping down, Apple and Google no longer share any board members. Levinson's decision was praised by the FTC chairman John Leibowitz, who said in a statement that both firms and Mr Levinson "should be commended for recognising that overlapping board members between competing companies raise serious anti-trust issues".

Eric Schmidt, who is currently Google's CEO, also praised his former board colleague saying, "Art has been a key part of Google's success these past five years, offering unvarnished advice and vital counsel on every big issue and opportunity Google has faced."

"Though he leaves as a member of our Board, Art will always have a special place at Google."

When Schmidt stepped down, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the decision was mutual and made sense because Schmidt's effectiveness on the board, which he had served on for three years, "will be significantly diminished since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest." It is thought that many of these meetings had to do with Apple's iPhone, a major source of competition for Google.

There are still senior advisers that work for both companies though; Al Gore, for example, serves on the board of Apple and is an adviser to Google. Bill Campbell, a former chairman and CEO of software company Intuit, also sits on the Apple board but holds a senior advisory role with Google. It is roles like these that will continue to be a headache for regulators who are striving to prevent monopolies or abuses of power within the US tech-industry.

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