14 DAY TRIAL // Search giant Google has announced the resignation of one of its directors, Arthur Levinson, who is also on Apple’s board. The announcement comes shortly after Google's Chief Executive, Eric Schmidt, left Apple's board of directors due to the increasing competition between the two giant companies.
A relevant excerpt from the official report announcing Levinson's resignation can be found below.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (October 12, 2009) – Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that Dr. Arthur Levinson has resigned as a member of the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. Levinson has been on the Google Board since April 2004.
In the same report, Levinson is described by Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt as being a good friend and a valued colleague.
"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," Schmidt said. "Though he leaves as a member of our Board, Art will always have a special place at Google."
"Working with Eric, Larry, Sergey and the whole Google team has been a remarkable experience for me. I greatly admire what they've built and have no doubt that Google has a terrific future," Levinson shared.
A BBC report points out to US laws saying that no one is allowed to serve on the boards of two companies, as long as said companies directly compete with each other. Apple and Google match this criterion perfectly, with both companies having a say in the mobile industry – Apple with its iPhone and App Store, and Google with its Android mobile operating system and its own application store (Android Market).
The same report claims that May 2009 saw the FTC commencing an investigation into "whether the presence of Mr Schmidt and Mr Levinson on the Google and Apple boards could lessen competition between the two firms." FTC Chairman John Leibowitz said that both firms and Mr. Levinson "should be commended for recognising that overlapping board members between competing companies raise serious anti-trust issues."