Al Gore Joins Apple Board -- Companies like to populate their board of directors with notable industry leaders, but in typical Apple fashion the company has snagged a director with more name value than most: former Vice President Al Gore. In making the announcement, Steve Jobs cited Gore's experience of "having helped run the largest organization in the world - the United States Government." Although this is his first private sector board seat, Gore brings more than just name recognition to the post: during his 25 years of government service, he was instrumental in helping to fund what became the Internet, he currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Google, and he holds three visiting university professorships. Gore fills the board seat formerly occupied by Larry Ellison, who resigned last year due to scheduling conflicts. Kudos to Apple for having the sense of humor to link to the Crazy Apple Rumors commentary about Gore's election on the Apple Hot News page. In a related move, Apple also announced a variety of changes to corporate governance, including adding independent directors, increasing the use of independent board committees, and reducing the number of outstanding stock options. [JLC]

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<http://www.apple.com/hotnews/>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2003/mar/ 20governance.html>