Apple announces changes to its board: Arthur D. Levinson named Chairman, Robert Iger joins

CUPERTINO, California-November 15, 2011-Apple® today named Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D. because the Company’s non-executive Chairman of the Board. Levinson have been a co-lead director of Apple’s board since 2005, has served on all three board committees- audit and finance, nominating and company governance, and compensation-and could continue to serve at the audit committee. Apple also announced that Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, will join Apple’s board and can serve at the audit committee.

“Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “He was our longest serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders.”

“Bob and i’ve gotten to grasp each other all right over the last few years and on behalf of your complete board, we predict he’s going to make a rare addition to our already very strong board,” said Tim Cook. “His strategic vision for Disney is predicated on three fundamentals: generating the appropriate creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the newest technology, and expanding into new markets worldwide which makes him an ideal fit for Apple.”

“i’m honored to be named chairman of Apple’s board and welcome Bob to our team,” said Art Levinson. “Apple is often concentrated on out-innovating itself in the course of the delivery of really innovative products that simplify and improve our lives, and that’s something i’m very proud to join.”

“Apple has achieved unprecedented success by consistently creating positive, truly innovative products, and i’m extremely pleased to affix the board of this sort of wonderful company,” said Bob Iger. “Through the years, I even have come to grasp and admire the management team, now ably led by Tim Cook, and i’m confident they’ve the leadership and vision to make sure Apple’s continued momentum and success.”

Levinson is chairman of Genentech, Inc. and a member of the Roche Board of Directors. He joined Genentech as a research scientist in 1980, and served as Genentech’s Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2009. He’s also a director of Amyris, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Levinson currently serves at the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Advisory Council for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. He has authored or co-authored greater than 80 scientific articles and have been a named inventor on 11 Usa patents. In 2008, he was elected to the yank Academy of Arts & Sciences. Levinson received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington and earned a doctorate in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton University.

Iger is the steward of the world’s largest media company and a few of the foremost respected and beloved brands everywhere. He has built on Disney’s rich history of unforgettable storytelling, with the purchase of Pixar (2006) and Marvel (2009), two of the entertainment industry’s greatest storytellers. Always one to embrace new technology, Iger has made Disney an industry leader on the forefront of offering its creative content across new and multiple platforms. He’s a member of the board of directors for the National Sep 11 Memorial & Museum and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. He became a board member of the usa-China Business Council in June 2011. In June 2010, President Barack Obama appointed him to the President’s Export Council, which advises the president on tips on how to promote US exports, jobs and growth. He’s also a member of the Partnership for a brand new American Economy, a coalition of mayors and business leaders from around the America that support comprehensive immigration reform. Iger is a graduate of Ithaca College.

Apple designs Macs, the most effective personal computers on the earth, besides OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the cellular telephone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 that is defining the way forward for mobile media and computing devices.