Google Chief Schmidt Joins Apple As Director

Microsoft Rivals Could Collaborate in the Future

Google chief executive Eric E. Schmidt brings diversity of experience to Apple's board, analysts said. (By Paul Sakuma -- Associated Press)

Apple Computer Inc. said yesterday that Google Inc. chief executive Eric E. Schmidt will join the company's board of directors, creating a bond between two technology powerhouses that compete fiercely with Microsoft Corp.

Schmidt, a multibillionaire who helped elevate Google into a powerful force on the Internet, joins a list of high-profile names on Apple's board, which includes former vice president Albert Gore Jr., Intuit Inc. Chairman William V. Campbell and Genentech Inc. chief executive Arthur D. Levinson.

"Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire," Schmidt said in a statement released by Apple. "I'm really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple's board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing."

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said Schmidt will bring insight and experience to help guide Apple in the future, according to a statement.

Analysts said Schmidt brings greater diversity of experience to Apple's board, which could benefit from Schmidt's background in the software, hardware and Internet businesses. Before joining Google, Schmidt was chief executive at Novell Inc. and chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems Inc. He serves on Google's board and on the Princeton University board of trustees.

Schmidt "provides a nice diversity and some new-world thinking" to the Apple board, said technology analyst Rob Enderle. "It doesn't hurt that he's the ex-CEO of Novell and Sun -- both firms went down the wrong path . . . so he's kind of learned. He knows first-hand and has experienced the problems associated with Apple's model."

Apple and Google do not really compete in the marketplace, Enderle said, and there are clear areas where the two firms might work together in the future. Apple, which got its start with Macintosh computers and is enjoying a resurgence with its iPod music players, is building a large presence on the Internet with the iTunes music and video service. Google is one of the most powerful brands in many types of Internet services but has little presence in the music market.

Schmidt's presence on the Apple board "provides a way for the two firms to collaborate rather than compete at a future point in time," Enderle said.