Johnson & Johnson's CEO Alex Gorsky joins Apple's board

With Gorsky joining Apple board of directors, the company is expected to see more development in health related features in iPhones and Watches

Cupertino-based technology major Apple on Wednesday (November 10) welcomed Alex Gorsky as the new member of its board of directors.

Gorsky, currently the CEO of Johnson & Johnson is slated to step down from his role in January 2022.

“Alex has long been a visionary in healthcare, applying his tremendous insight, experience, and passion for technology to the cause of improving lives and building healthier communities. We’re excited to welcome him to Apple’s board of directors, and I know that all of us will benefit from his leadership and expertise,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

The announcement comes at a time when Apple has renewed its efforts on enhancing health-related features in its products particularly Apple Watches. In the past three to four years, the smart wearable has been upgraded with several potential life-saving features including irregular heart rate alerts, ECG (Electrocardiogram) to detect Atrial Fibrillation, and SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation) level reader. Also, Watches offer advanced physical fitness activity tracking, walking steadiness, track respiratory rate ( number of breaths per minute while sleeping), mindfulness apps to relieve stress and improve women's health in terms of menstrual cycle tracking, and more.

Furthermore, the recent iOS 15 update has made it easier for users to share medical data with family doctors, family members, caretakers than ever before.

Must read | Apple iOS 15: Everything you need to know

“I’ve long shared Apple’s belief that technology has the potential to improve lives and create healthier communities. It’s an honor to join Apple’s board of directors, and to be part of a values-led company that’s constantly innovating to both enable and enhance the way we live,” said Alex Gorsky.

Alex Gorsky, Chair and CEO, Johnson & Johnson, speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2018. Picture Credit- World Economic Forum/Creative Commons

With Gorsky's decades of experience in the healthcare industry, Apple will be able to explore developing more features and also help the company navigate through several bureaucracy bottlenecks to get approvals for health features in its devices.

For the uninitiated, Gorsky graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, and later went on to serve in the US Army for six years and finished his military career with the rank of captain.

Gorsky joined Johnson & Johnson in 1988 and also earned a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. He also serves as a board member in IBM, Travis Manion Foundation, and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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