Disney CEO Bob Iger Joins Apple Board

15 Nov, 2011 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Move underscores bond established by the late Steve Jobs, who held a board seat with Disney following its acquisition of Pixar Animation

Apple Nov. 15 said it has named Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., to its board of directors.

Apple also named director Arthur Levinson chairman of the board.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant said Iger would serve on the audit committee.

Iger spearheaded Disney’s bold $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar in 2006 — a deal that has impacted Disney’s bottom line and vaunted content portfolio, but also kept in place Pixar’s successful creative team, led by John Lassester. At the time of the acquisition, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who became a member of Disney’s board, led Pixar.

The deal, which foreshadowed Iger’s subsequent acquisition of Marvel Inc., is considered a benchmark in the CEO’s accomplishments since it turned the page on what had been an acrimonious relationship between the two companies — driven by the openly contentious Jobs and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

“Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. “His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple.”

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