Vested Bedfellows

by poputonian

Here’s what’s wrong with the American Boardroom:

October 12, 2005

Apple cuts the TV out of TV programming
“This is a first giant step,” said Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger, who appeared on stage with Jobs to tout the new offering. “It is the future, as far as we are concerned.”

Today

Apple Launches Online Movie Service

The iTunes Music Store, however, will initially carry movies only from The Walt Disney Co. studios, where Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a board member. By contrast, Amazon.com Inc.’s movie service launched last week with distribution deals with seven studios — but not Disney.

I don’t see how Jobs can fulfill his obligations as Disney Director (regarding potentially libelous TV movies) when he has a stake in keeping his mouth shut.Conflict of Interest (from wikipedia)

A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust, such as a lawyer, a politician, or an executive or director of a corporation, has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties impartially. Even if there is no evidence of improper actions, a conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in the ability of that person to act properly in his/her position.