????1997年，史蒂夫?喬布斯重返蘋果（Apple）。當年他最先處理的事情之一，就是解散公司董事會，任命與自己投契的人擔任董事，其中就包括基因泰克公司（Genentech）當時的首席執行官亞瑟?萊文森。

????根據沃爾特?艾薩克森所著《喬布斯傳》（Steve Jobs）：“喬布斯并沒有向董事會移交任何實質權力。實際上，他只是通過董事會會議的討論來激發靈感，自行思索公司戰略。”

????蘋果聯合創始人喬布斯逝世后，蒂姆?庫克擔任首席執行官，而萊文森也升任公司董事長，這也是喬布斯生前擔任的最后一個職位。萊文森是否會堅決主張董事的權力，盡管公司董事會在喬布斯是到從未行使過這些權力。

????蘋果公司周二舉辦了新聞發布會，對媒體通報了萊文森的簡單背景信息。

????萊文森擁有華盛頓大學（University of Washington）理學士學位和普林斯頓大學（Princeton）博士學位。他1980年加入基因泰克公司擔任研究科學家；1995至2009年擔任基因泰克首席執行官；2010年以來擔任該公司董事長。他曾經單獨或與他人合作發表了80篇科學論文，擁有11項美國專利權。他擁有相當多董事會和顧問委員會的頭銜，其中包括麻省理工學院-哈佛博德研究所（the Broad Institute of MIT）以及史隆基達寧癌癥中心（the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center）。

????他的維基百科條目也提供了一些個人信息。

????萊文森現年61歲，與太太結婚33年，育有兩個孩子。他曾被《商業周刊》（BusinessWeek）評為2004年和2005年年度最佳經理人，還曾連續四年被《機構投資者》（Institutional Investor）評為生物科技領域“全美最佳首席執行官”。在Glassdoor.com網站評選中，他還以93%的支持率當選2008年“最友善”的首席執行官。

????然而，只有透過艾薩克森的著作，我們才更深入地了解了他在蘋果所發揮的作用，以及他與史蒂夫這位強勢的首席執行官之間的關系。

????? 萊文森對艾薩克森說，喬布斯告訴董事會他打算開設蘋果零售店時，“這真讓我撓頭，我覺得這種想法很瘋狂。我們是一家小公司，是行業里的‘邊緣成員’。我說我不確定我會支持這個計劃。”

????? 決定將Mac系統向英特爾架構轉換時，“我們爭論過，提出了很多問題。最終我們達成了一致，決定采取行動。”

????One of the first things Steve Jobs did when he returned Apple (AAPL) in 1997 was dismiss the company's board and appoint directors more to his liking, including Genentech CEO Arthur D. Levinson.

????"Jobs did not cede any real power to his board," according to Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs. "But he did use its meetings to kick around ideas and think through strategies in confidence."

????With Jobs gone and Tim Cook as CEO, Levinson has been elevated to chairman of the board -- the last position Jobs held before he died. Is Levinson the kind of chairman who will insist on powers that the board never had under the company's co-founder?

????Apple's press release Tuesday offers a bare-bones summary of his background:

????B.S. University of Washington, Ph.D. Princeton. Joined Genentech as a research scientist in 1980, served as CEO 1995-2009, chairman of the board from 2010 on. Author or co-author of 80 scientific papers, named as inventor on 11 U.S. patents. Serves on numerous boards and advisory committees, from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

????His Wikipedia entry offers some personal detail and color.

????He's 61 years old, the father of two, married to the same woman for 33 years. Named one of the best managers of the year in 2004 and 2005 by BusinessWeek. Named "America's Best CEO" in biotech for four years in a row by Institutional Investor. Rated the "nicest" CEO of 2008 with a 93% approval rating by Glassdoor.com.

????But we get the closest look at the role he played at Apple -- and his relationship with its powerful CEO -- through Isaacson's biography.

????? When Jobs told the board about his plans to build the Apple Stores: "I'm scratching my head and thinking this is crazy," Levinson told Isaacson. "We are a small company, a marginal player. I said I'm not sure I can support something like this."

????? On the decision to move the Mac to the Intel architecture: "We debated it, we asked a lot of questions, and finally we all decided it needed to be done."