Apple Names Levinson as Chairman

Apple named Arthur D. Levinson as non-executive chairman of its board and added Disney CEO Robert Iger as a board member. The change of the board members was the first important step that Apple took since the passing of co-founder Steve Jobs, when the company didn't named its successor.

Levinson, a molecular biologist who is also chairman and former CEO of Genentech, has been the co-lead of Apple's board since 2005. Before that, he came on as a board member in 2000, and has served on all of its committees. Levinson is also on Roche's board of directors, and a director at the biotech companies Amyris and NGM Biopharmaceuticals, as well as at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Iger, meanwhile, is credited with helping to broker the 2006 deal in which Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion and made Jobs a Disney director. Iger also paved the way for bringing ABC's TV shows to the iTunes Store. 

As Apple's biography of Levinson notes, he's authored or co-authored in excess of 80 scientific articles, and is listed as the inventor on 11 U.S. patents. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington, and a doctorate in Biochemical Sciences from Pinceton University. Three years ago he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.