Tim Cook Actively Looking to Add New Members to Board of Directors

The Wall Street Journal has posted an in-depth profile on Apple CEO Tim Cook noting the changes he has made at Apple while carefully stepping in the shadow of Steve Jobs. While most of the information revealed in the profile has been previously disclosed, there are some interesting tidbits.

The profile notes that after years of making subtle changes and tweaks, Apple has finally stepped it up a notch as Cook is pushing Apple to be more collaborative. The work environment is described as less hectic and Cook is said to be less involved in product development and more willing to let employees take on the role.

According to sources, Cook is looking to add new directors to Apple's eight-person board. Four of the current eight have served for more than a decade.


That includes Apple's board. According to people familiar with the company, Mr. Cook is actively seeking new directors to add to Apple's eight-person board, known for its loyalty to Mr. Jobs. Six of the seven outside directors are aged 63 or older. Four of them have served for more than a decade, including two who have been on the board since the late 1990s: former Intuit Corp Chief Executive Bill Campbell and J. Crew Group Inc. Chief Executive Millard S. "Mickey" Drexler.

Cook is also focusing on pushing Apple to have more of an impact on society. He has lead the company to become more environmentally friendly with data centers running on renewable energy. Cook also brought an employee donation-matching program that matches any employee's donations up to a certain amount.

The profile describes Tim Cook as more of a manager and less of a visionary, something that many believe will cause Apple to lose its innovative edge it has been known for. Some employees believe Apple could be losing its 'laser focus' that Steve Jobs was known for creating.

Mr. Jobs's repudiations bruised feelings while making sure the company stayed focused on a few projects. Under Mr. Cook, current and former employees say Apple may be spreading itself too thin, pursuing too many ideas and compromising the "laser focus" that Mr. Jobs used to create the iMac, iPhone and iPad.

"It was Steve's job to say no," one of these people said. "Tim is not as comfortable doing that."

Apple is expected to unveil its iWatch this fall, making it the first major product category launch under new CEO Tim Cook.

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