Apple has taken on board James Bell, a former CFO of The Boeing Company to bring to the company. He will be the only African-American member on the board.
The company has come under the scanner and been criticized for neglecting unrepresented minorities and women. However, Apple has asserted it has made steady progress in recruiting women and diversifying its employee population.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, Apple revealed that Bell had been elected to its board of directors and would add some diversity to the 8-member board, which comprises Andrea Jung (CEO of Grameen America), ex US VP Al Gore, Robert Iger (Disney CEO), BlackRock's co-founder Susan Wagner, Ronald Sugar ex-CEO Northrop Grumman, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and Arthur Levinson CEO of Genentech.
"James brings a wealth of global, financial and industrial experience from his successful career at Boeing as corporate president and CFO. I am thrilled to welcome him to Apple's board of directors and I look forward to working with him," stated Cook.
Bell has the distinction of being the highest ranking employee of African-American ethnic origin in the history of The Boeing Company. In 2012, he retired as the company's CFO after a 38-year long tenure. In 2005, Bell also served as Boeing's interim CEO.
He has a bachelor's degree in accounting and studied at the California State University in L.A. Bell is also on the board of directors for Dow Chemical Company, J.P. Morgan Chase and CDW. The ex-Boeing CFO is also a trustee at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
The new Apple board member is expected to bring some invaluable manufacturing experience to the Cupertino-based company. Bell who is "delighted" to join the board of the most valuable company in the world, is expected to potentially offer insights and inputs for the development of Apple's rumored car.
"I am an avid user of Apple products and have a tremendous respect for the company's ability to innovate," stated Bell.
With Apple allegedly setting sights on an iCar, with Bell on board (literally) we could possibly see the company foray into a new terrain. An Apple-manufactured airplane perhaps?
