Arthur D. Levinson

Arthur Levinson earned a bachelor's degree in molecular biology from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Princeton University. He joined the biotechnology company Genentech in 1980 as a research scientist, rose to lead the company as CEO from 1995 to 2009 and served as chairman through 2014.

He joined Apple's board of directors in 2000, during Steve Jobs' early years back at the company. After Jobs resigned as CEO in August 2011, and then died in October, Levinson was elected non-executive chairman in November 2011.

He has also been the chief executive of Calico, the Google-backed research company focused on aging, since 2013. On April 20, 2026, Apple announced that Levinson, who had chaired the board for 15 years, would become lead independent director on September 1, 2026, when Tim Cook became executive chairman and John Ternus became CEO.

Levinson is also a trained scientist who has authored many scientific papers on cancer biology, and he has been honored for his role in the development of cancer treatments at Genentech. He will remain on the board as the lead independent director, a role that gives the independent directors a single voice alongside the executive chairman.