Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer Joins Board of Directors at Goldman Sachs
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Goldman are one of the most toxic, destructive forces operating today. Due to the hooks they have into the government they are also untouchable and can operate without fear of retribution.
If that's what Oppenheimer wants then so be it but it hurts the Apple brand to have someone so closely associated with these crooks.
Here's a primer for the uninitiated:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405
If that's what Oppenheimer wants then so be it but it hurts the Apple brand to have someone so closely associated with these crooks.
Here's a primer for the uninitiated:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405
Ah yes, right on cue, the defender of Wallstreet.
Ah yes, right on cue, totally missing the point.
Yeah that's the ticket! As soon as Cook realized that Republicans are demonizing him as a Climate Change-Monkey, he gives a phone call to Goldman-Sachs saying "Hey guys, do me a solid and hire my CFO on your Board of Directors, ok?"
And they're like "OK Tim, anything for you."
And then Tim can finally get some sleep again, because the Tea Party and Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coultier and Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin will stop harassing him now, and then on the next radio show Limbaugh is gushing about how he loves Apple products once again.
Yeah, that must be it!
Two different angles that may have merit, although I hate to contemplate the manipulative aspects of the second scenario. Especially if these prospective board members are recruited not for the expertise they could bring to the table, but rather for strategic purposes only.
It's possible his affiliation with Goldman Sachs might tarnish the Apple brand, but honestly, the vast majority of Apple customers who don't have a Business degree could care less who he is. Do you even think the average Apple customers have a clue who Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is? No they don't. Go troll a New York City subway, find some young adult on the subway listening to his iPhone/iPod while on the train, they are legion, and (assuming he isn't hostile), ask that average Apple user if he knows who Janet Yellen is. You think he can give you an answer? LOL.
Do you think they care about or know who Jamie Dimon is? He is the loud-mouthed boastful and high-profile CEO of one of the biggest banks in the USA, probably the CEO of the very bank they have their accounts in. Dimon is like 100 times more well-known in the media than Apple's CFO Oppenheimer. But again, the average Apple customer (and my example above of your typical NYC or SF urbanite is on target) will not know who Dimon is, and they don't care. And the same with Oppenheimer.
So this tarnishing of the Apple brand will be very limited…. probably limited to a rare bred of political-activist progressive nerds who frequent sites like MacRumors, Engadget, etc.
Now if someone from GS were to join Apple's board
come to think of it, is there any real difference?
What "Apple" qualities could be brought to GS?
Apart from Jobs, who got to Disney as part of the sale of Pixar, although it could be argued, he had a personal interest in animated films, Apple's notable outside board positions seem to a matter of personal interest Cook Nike, Cue Ferrari, and it could be that simple, for a CFO, GS could be a personal interest.
Certainly, if GS ever gets slapped over the wrist for compensation the way the other bully in the playground JP Morgan did, having an Apple face on that may be a valuable asset.
It's hard not to see this as another step in the establishment plundering the great hippy enterprise, once their charismatic leader has gone.
Jobs may have been open about his unconventional behaviour, and he may have gotten a pass to hold the company to his values, given his contribution and his limited lifespan.
Cook may have had no choice other than to buckle (or risk contracting a rare and incurable condition himself). Don't get me wrong, I admire Cook and he is truly the best possible leader for Apple.
And I believe same-sex parents and marriages have done much to bolster the institutions of marriage and family, at a time when the wider public is becoming increasingly disenchanted with their current social constructions.
But it does seem, by the sudden and catastrophic collapse of irreplaceable Jobs ideals at Apple, additional pressure may have been able to be applied by virtue of having a closeted gay CEO of a proudly family oriented company.
If I could have a minute with Cook, I would express my admiration for his efforts to take back some of these initial losses - share buy-back and opening up the surveillance state to more public scrutiny. And express my hope that the sudden political and media concern for the normal human rights of gay citizens, albeit only in other countries at this stage, can be translated to bolder action on his part.
Apple fans may have lost a few battles recently, but in the face of everything, Cook seems to be entirely up to the job of turning around this far more devious and invisible crisis for Apple, than the late 90s issues.
I truly do hope Oppenheimer's GS role is entirely a matter of his own interest, and that this is not a shrewd political move against Apple, by arguably the most insidious evil on the planet.
What "Apple" qualities could be brought to GS?
- A more compassionate GS? Hardly.
- A more forward thinking GS? More forward thinking than being able to appoint a former employee/contractor to be Prime Minister or President of a country - Greece, Italy, Spain I don't think so.
- More about product and customer experience, than the profit? You wish.
Apart from Jobs, who got to Disney as part of the sale of Pixar, although it could be argued, he had a personal interest in animated films, Apple's notable outside board positions seem to a matter of personal interest Cook Nike, Cue Ferrari, and it could be that simple, for a CFO, GS could be a personal interest.
Certainly, if GS ever gets slapped over the wrist for compensation the way the other bully in the playground JP Morgan did, having an Apple face on that may be a valuable asset.
It's hard not to see this as another step in the establishment plundering the great hippy enterprise, once their charismatic leader has gone.
- Dividends may have only been testing the water for corrupting Apple at a (CFO) policy level.
- Signing up for Prism (and who knows what other slave monitoring), witness the goto fail.
- Tony Fadell, Mr Flash, and responsible for the least secure software in history, now at the core of Apple Technologies, taking over from Bob Mansfield.
Jobs may have been open about his unconventional behaviour, and he may have gotten a pass to hold the company to his values, given his contribution and his limited lifespan.
Cook may have had no choice other than to buckle (or risk contracting a rare and incurable condition himself). Don't get me wrong, I admire Cook and he is truly the best possible leader for Apple.
And I believe same-sex parents and marriages have done much to bolster the institutions of marriage and family, at a time when the wider public is becoming increasingly disenchanted with their current social constructions.
But it does seem, by the sudden and catastrophic collapse of irreplaceable Jobs ideals at Apple, additional pressure may have been able to be applied by virtue of having a closeted gay CEO of a proudly family oriented company.
If I could have a minute with Cook, I would express my admiration for his efforts to take back some of these initial losses - share buy-back and opening up the surveillance state to more public scrutiny. And express my hope that the sudden political and media concern for the normal human rights of gay citizens, albeit only in other countries at this stage, can be translated to bolder action on his part.
Apple fans may have lost a few battles recently, but in the face of everything, Cook seems to be entirely up to the job of turning around this far more devious and invisible crisis for Apple, than the late 90s issues.
I truly do hope Oppenheimer's GS role is entirely a matter of his own interest, and that this is not a shrewd political move against Apple, by arguably the most insidious evil on the planet.
Well, if we are going to demonize Oppenheimer because he is now an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, then we can say one thing about the Apple Board: It's now more balanced than ever.
Apple Board:
Left Wing, ex-VP Al Gore (loathed by Conservatives)
Right Wing, GS capitalist financier Oppenheimer (loathed by Liberals)
So there you go, mate. The Apple Board of Directors… more balanced (in the political spectrum) than ever.
Apples Peter Oppenheimer to Retire at the End of September
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/201...heimer-to-Retire-at-the-End-of-September.html
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/201...heimer-to-Retire-at-the-End-of-September.html
Okay, so first Obama admin. threatens and calls Tim Cook to the carpet until Apple hires some lady who did work for Obama. Now this guy's on the board of Goldman Sachs. And Al Gore with Apple. How naive I was about this company!
Looks like he is moving to Sachs and leaving Apple. I think he just wants a new challenge as he's done Apple for so long.
CFO Oppenheimer and Goldman Sachs...read attached! Apple selling out?!
Attached is an EXCELLENT article written by the great Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone on the crooks at Goldman 'Sucks'.
I'm thinking about bailing now! Off the grid. Apple is already selling out: making more profit than ever, products really taking a dive in quality...face it, Apple, as a trusted family, died with Steve Jobs.
The big shots are now the bourgeoisie of the socio-economic class and soon, many of their employees will just be free-trade slaves with benefits being cut from them when quarterly profits aren't up to snuff!
As far as us proletariat consumers; the products (software and hardware) will quickly deteriorate, prices will rise, decent help will vanish more than it already has...it's a corporation nation.
Same thing happened long ago while working with Gannett! Profit over people!
Please read Matt's article attached on Goldman-Sachs after the bailout fiasco. You will be soooo entertained, very funny; at the same time, so sad because it's true...by the end of the long article, your blood will be boiling.
The U.S. is truly a fascist (corporate) state!
Just more claws to feed.
The deterioration of the American Family Unit!!
I'm ashamed to admit I live in this country, let alone born here.
Sorry, just speaking the truth; and by the time you finish the attached article, you just might see things a little clearer as well.
So Oppenheimer, BYTE ME!!!!!
Attached is an EXCELLENT article written by the great Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone on the crooks at Goldman 'Sucks'.
I'm thinking about bailing now! Off the grid. Apple is already selling out: making more profit than ever, products really taking a dive in quality...face it, Apple, as a trusted family, died with Steve Jobs.
The big shots are now the bourgeoisie of the socio-economic class and soon, many of their employees will just be free-trade slaves with benefits being cut from them when quarterly profits aren't up to snuff!
As far as us proletariat consumers; the products (software and hardware) will quickly deteriorate, prices will rise, decent help will vanish more than it already has...it's a corporation nation.
Same thing happened long ago while working with Gannett! Profit over people!
Please read Matt's article attached on Goldman-Sachs after the bailout fiasco. You will be soooo entertained, very funny; at the same time, so sad because it's true...by the end of the long article, your blood will be boiling.
The U.S. is truly a fascist (corporate) state!
Just more claws to feed.
The deterioration of the American Family Unit!!
I'm ashamed to admit I live in this country, let alone born here.
Sorry, just speaking the truth; and by the time you finish the attached article, you just might see things a little clearer as well.
So Oppenheimer, BYTE ME!!!!!
Last edited: