Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13), co-chairs of the CBC’s Diversity Task Force, commended Apple’s appointment of James A. Bell to its Board of Directors.
“We are pleased that Apple is demonstrating its commitment to greater African-American inclusion with the addition of James Bell to its board. In welcoming him to the Board, Apple has taken an important step forward in advancing African American leadership in the tech sector,” said CBC Chairman G. K. Butterfield.
“As we have stated before, the commitment of corporate executives in working toward African American inclusion at all levels of tech companies is critical to our national competitiveness and good for tech companies’ bottom line. We look forward to other companies making African American inclusion not only a priority, but a reality.”
Bell is the former chief financial officer and corporate president of The Boeing Company. During his 38-year career at Boeing, Bell oversaw Boeing Capital Corporation and Boeing Shared Services, and was interim CEO of The Boeing Company in 2005.
“I am an avid user of Apple products and have a tremendous respect for the company’s ability to innovate,” said Bell. “I am delighted to join the Apple board and look forward to contributing to its continued success in any way I can.”
Bell is a member of the board of directors of JP Morgan Chase, Dow Chemical Company, CDW, and a Trustee of Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center. He has also worked with New Leaders for New Schools to help develop talented teachers and principals, and served on many community-based boards. Bell attended California State University, Los Angeles where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
“The election of Mr. Bell to the Apple’s Board of Director shows a continued commitment from Apple to increase diversity within the company, which is a moral and economic imperative,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
“While the election of an African American to Apple’s Board of Directors is a major step forward, much work remains to ensure techquity. I remain committed to working within the CBC TECH 2020 framework to increase diversity and inclusion of African Americans in the tech sector.”
Since CBC TECH 2020 was launched in May, four African Americans have joined Fortune 500 tech company boards including Leslie A. Brun and Pamela Carter to HP Enterprise and Stacy Brown-Philpot and Stacey Mobley to HP Inc., in addition to Bell.
This latest appointment follows the CBC members’ visit to Silicon Valley where they met with tech leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook.
