He also served as Boeing’s interim chief executive for several months in 2005 after the aircraft maker fired chief executive officer Harry Stonecipher over his personal relationship with a female executive of the company.
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Apple named James A. Bell, who had been the highest-ranking African-American employee in Boeing’s history, to its board Thursday. Apple and many other major Silicon Valley firms have been working to balance their predominantly white and male composition. “I am delighted to join the Apple board and look forward to contributing to its continued success in any way I can”, he added.
Apple’s newest board member should bring a few additional manufacturing chops to the most valuable company in the world, which is rumored to be developing a auto.
An accountant by training who exudes a calm confidence, Bell helped restore investor and customer trust as Boeing was ravaged by scandal in the last decade.
Bell also sits on the boards of JP Morgan Chase, Dow Chemical and another technology company, CDW.
Moreover, Apple’s chairman Art Levinson stated that “We look for outstanding individuals to strengthen our board’s breadth of talent and depth of knowledge, and we are very happy to have identified a fantastic person in James Bell”. Mr. Drexler had served as a board member for Apple, since 1999.
Bell graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting at the California State University in Los Angeles, according to the press release.
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As for Bell, he’s apparently a big Apple fan already, describing himself as an “avid user” of the company’s products.
