Eric Schmidt has stepped down from the board of Apple, three
years after being elected.
According to the
Wall
Street Journal, Schmidt cited the overlap between Apple and
Google as the reason for his departure.
Schmidt was voted onto Apple's board in 2006. At the time Apple
CEO Steve Jobs said, "Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO
of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of
Apple's board of directors. Like Apple, Google is very focused on
innovation and we think Eric's insights and experience will be very
valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead."
Last week, Apple distanced itself from Google when it
rejected Google's Voice telephony application for the Google
App Store.
Schmidt has been at the helm of Google since 2001. Prior to
Google, he was chief executive of Novell.