Apple’s Ive an Odd Exception on Stock Disclosures

Former Apple executives and other industry followers have occasionally asked me why Jonathan Ive, the company’s high-profile design head, doesn’t disclose when he receives or sells stock as Apple’s eight other senior vice presidents, CEO and directors do. Ive now oversees the design of Apple’s software as well as its hardware, and is widely seen as critical to the future of the direction of the company.

Given the questions and his growing leadership role, I decided to explore the issue of whether or not Ive met the Security and Exchange Commission’s definition of an officer required to disclose his or her Apple holdings. Corporate governance is in the spotlight in Silicon Valley as investors slam boards for alleged conflicts of interest. And the topic has long been a hot button one at Apple, whose directors faced criticism from investors and corporate governance experts for their handling of disclosures around Steve Jobs’s health. The company was also caught up in a scandal around stock-option backdating.