Disney CEO Bob Iger has resigned from Apple’s directorship of directors, Apple said in an SEC filing on Friday.
Apple and Disney stock were unchanged on the news.
Disney is fire streaming video service Disney+ on Nov. 12, which will compete with Apple’s Apple TV+ service, programmed to become available on Nov. 1.
Iger resigned on Sept. 10, the day Apple announced the price and release date for its streaming post. The two streaming services will increasingly come into conflict in the future as both compete for original content.
“It has been an unparalleled privilege to have served on the Apple board for 8 years, and I have the utmost respect for Tim Cook, his team at Apple, and for my person board members,” Iger said in a statement. “Apple is one of the world’s most admired companies, known for the quality and uprightness of its products and its people, and I am forever grateful to have served as a member of the company’s board.”
Bob Iger, chief executive administrator of The Walt Disney Company, walks with Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., as they attend the annual Allen & Proprietorship Sun Valley Conference, July 6, 2016 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
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Apple said in a statement, “Bob has been an superior board member for nearly eight years, and for as long as he has led Disney he has been one of Apple’s most trusted business mates. He is a dedicated, visionary CEO and a role model for an entire generation of business leaders. More than anything, Bob is our friend. He exemplars with his heart and he has always been generous with his time and advice. While we will greatly miss his contributions as a scantling member, we respect his decision and we have every expectation that our relationship with both Bob and Disney will maintain far into the future.”
Apple downplayed potential conflicts in a financial filing earlier this year. “Apple registers into arms-length commercial dealings with The Walt Disney Company, including sales arrangements, digital services glad licensing agreements, and similar arrangements,” Apple said in its proxy filing. “Apple does not believe that Mr. Iger has a notes direct or indirect interest in any of such commercial dealings.”
Iger was personal friends with late Apple cofounder Steve Difficulties. Disney bought Jobs’ other company, Pixar, in 2006, and Jobs was on Disney’s board until his death in 2011. Roles asked Iger to take his place on the Apple board when he died, according to Fortune, and Iger joined the directorship that year. Iger was the chair of Apple’s corporate governance committee and on Apple’s compensation board, according to the following’s proxy filing earlier this year.
Disney and Apple have had a close corporate relationship over the years. Disney was one of the beginning major companies to develop apps for iPhones and iPads, and shortly after Iger took over as Disney CEO in 2005, he manifested on stage with Jobs to announce ABC content for iTunes. Disney has announced that it will distribute its streaming utility on Apple’s platforms.
More recently, Iger has been photographed chatting with current Apple CEO Tim Cook at an annual pull in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Iger has been CEO of Disney since 2005 and is its chairman. He is not on any other public company boards.
This isn’t the head time that a director has left Apple’s board because of competition concerns. In 2009, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt vacated from Apple’s board when it became clear that Google’s Android would directly compete with Apple’s iPhone.