Investor Activism – Wanda Austin to Replaces Al Gore on Apple’s Board

National Legal and Policy Centre, an Apple shareholder, urged other investors to oppose Gore’s re-election, explaining in a lengthy memo filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission why Gore is not suitable for serving influential leadership role in Apple and was detrimental to the interest of the company

Apple has announced that Dr Wanda Austin, former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, has been nominated to the company’s board of directors.

The board has a longtime policy that directors may not run for reelection after the age of 75. As a result, Al Gore, who has served since 2003, and James Bell, who joined in 2015, will both step down from Apple’s board this year.

Earlier, the National Legal and Policy Centre, an Apple shareholder, urged other investors to oppose Gore’s re-election, explaining in a lengthy memo filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission why Gore is not suitable for serving influential leadership role in Apple and was detrimental to the interest of the company.

According to the memo filed by National Legal and Policy Centre stated that even if shareholders feel a valuable board seat of Apple should be granted only based on the Environment and Climate criteria, Mr. Gore is an unsuitable candidate. Gore has no expertise or experience in research or climate science and his climate projections have consistently been incorrect.

Mr. Gore’s only expertise in the private sector comes from his investment companies such as Generation IM and Kleiner Perkins. Unlike the rest of Apple’s board, Al Gore has no expertise managing critical business tasks such as product development, worldwide operations, or compliance.

During Mr. Gore’s term on Apple’s board, the business actively pursued a supply chain fueled entirely by renewable energy sources. However, outside of Apple, Mr. Gore has made significant investments in green-energy technology, which Apple directly supports, potentially increasing Mr. Gore’s investments. Thus, Mr. Gore’s presence on Apple’s board appears to be a conflict of interest, given his investment firms fund the same technology that Apple supports.

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