On Apple's Board, Fewer Independent Voices

The death of Apple Inc. director Jerome York last week has left the company with fewer independent voices, putting it in conflict with its own board's rules and renewing concerns about the board's ability to oversee strong-willed Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

At Apple, Mr. York was regarded as a relatively authoritative figure on audit and corporate governance matters but tended not to offer too many opinions, said people familiar with the board.

But he had strong feelings about the way Mr. Jobs handled disclosures about his leave of absence for health reasons in January 2009. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last year, Mr. York said he almost resigned when told of the seriousness of Mr. Jobs's illness. Mr. York felt Mr. Jobs should have publicly disclosed his health problem three weeks earlier in a news release that announced his decision not to appear at the Macworld trade conference.

Mr. York said the concealment "disgusted" him, adding that the only reason he didn't quit at the time was because he wanted to avoid the uproar that would have occurred once he disclosed his reason. "Frankly, I wish I had resigned then," he said.