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Apple Adds Former Northrop Grumman CEO Ronald Sugar to Board of Directors
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Well, yesterday really was another "The day the earth stood still" day 
However todays news sounds GREAT. Chief Engineer from Northrup Grumman coming to Apple. Grumman rumoured to be involved in Black Govnmt Projects,
who knows, perhaps we will see Free Energy MBA's and iPhones with Anty Gravity
motors. Sounds cool to me
MBP 15" 2.66 MHz 320GB; iphone4 16 GB, (black)
However todays news sounds GREAT. Chief Engineer from Northrup Grumman coming to Apple. Grumman rumoured to be involved in Black Govnmt Projects,
who knows, perhaps we will see Free Energy MBA's and iPhones with Anty Gravity
motors. Sounds cool to me
MBP 15" 2.66 MHz 320GB; iphone4 16 GB, (black)
We will start seeing drone planes, tanks, using iOS to control it all. Just hope no glitches when they target the bad guys!
The only real crisis at the top Apple has experienced in recent memory was the options dating issue. This guy is tasked to deal with issues related to that.
What essentially happened was Apple wanted to compensate the guys with options, did what other companies had done in pricing them, GAAP, then IRS and SEC decided all those folks were doing it wrong. Instead of "fixing it" by saying to those particular folks to reprice post-facto and refile SEC and IRS documents as needed to address the change in GAAP, they decided to go the gotcha and enforcement route.
That was bad behavior on the part of the government, and the rubes at Apple were caught like a deer in the headlights on it. But if you now presume in advance the government is out to get you, which it in actuality is, then you want to hire talent accustomed to dealing with it. On the board, the legal staff and even the accounting department.
Does Steve and others, get to sue the (other arm of the) government under employment law for the loss of compensation he had as a result of the repricing settlement the Justice department forced on Apple and the affected employees? It has to be a loss of several billion dollars.
Rocketman
What essentially happened was Apple wanted to compensate the guys with options, did what other companies had done in pricing them, GAAP, then IRS and SEC decided all those folks were doing it wrong. Instead of "fixing it" by saying to those particular folks to reprice post-facto and refile SEC and IRS documents as needed to address the change in GAAP, they decided to go the gotcha and enforcement route.
That was bad behavior on the part of the government, and the rubes at Apple were caught like a deer in the headlights on it. But if you now presume in advance the government is out to get you, which it in actuality is, then you want to hire talent accustomed to dealing with it. On the board, the legal staff and even the accounting department.
Does Steve and others, get to sue the (other arm of the) government under employment law for the loss of compensation he had as a result of the repricing settlement the Justice department forced on Apple and the affected employees? It has to be a loss of several billion dollars.
Rocketman
Just because you don't understand the implications of Beatles digital distribution doesn't mean it's not important.
Apparently, I don't understand these implications either. Can you detail these for us?
Except that the F-16 belong to General Dynamics.
Am I the only one who finds it odd that we have a Former Politician and now a former Defense CEO sitting on the board of a "Digital Lifestyle" Company.
sometime six members makes it hard to vote...often leaving the Chair to break the tie...
York had strengths in Audit and Finance, Dexler & Jung has strengths retail/mail order, marketing. Campbell - software.
I guess this person (Sugar) brings strengths in giving direction for large engineering companies... kinda rounds out the Board - although you'd think that they would have chosen someone strong in Audit/Finance to replace York.
I contracted for Northrop several years back, and where I was it gave the impression to me of a small company run by a bunch of monkeys.
I've never seen such a poor chain of communication, use of archaic systems, and mountains of paper and carbon copies. I couldn't believe that a company that produced high tech products operated in such a low tech way.
I've never seen such a poor chain of communication, use of archaic systems, and mountains of paper and carbon copies. I couldn't believe that a company that produced high tech products operated in such a low tech way.
How can you get government contracts without Enterprise level servers or being able to keep your systems up to date with security?
I did my internship there. It was horrid. I currently work with a former manager from Northrop (when it was TRW) and he said getting out there was the best thing he ever did.
You have to admit, it is much harder to break into a big pile of paper, specially considering the poor state of computer security in the past. I'd be surprised if they continued to do so in the present, though.
It's good to have someone on board who understands security in general, not just computer security
Exactly my point
Note: Remember he is not coming to Apple as a sales executive, but as a member of the board, influencing strategy and direction
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If their motive was security through obscurity, then I'll conceed, but my impression was that the operational mindset was stuck in the 60s. Also the poor (or lack of) security of some building was interesting to say the least.
yes, Steve Jobs
... it's sometimes tricky to get active CEO's or execs from industries/corporations that you do direct business with since it can be a conflict of interest (Eric Schmidt). Even Jobs being on the board of Disney sometimes looks bad, if it weren't for the fact that he is the largest shareholder.
like USB and SD.
P.
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Apple getting in to defense contracts by stealth
Who better to get under the defense procurement radar than former boss of stealth bomber manufacturer Northrop Grumman.
Who better to get under the defense procurement radar than former boss of stealth bomber manufacturer Northrop Grumman.
Regarding the quality of Northrop Grumman as a corporation, there can be no more damning evidence than the fact that in my three years working there, they never once tried to fire me...
...save, perhaps, the even more troublesome fact that, having tendered my resignation, they offered me more money to stay.
...save, perhaps, the even more troublesome fact that, having tendered my resignation, they offered me more money to stay.