Corporate boards receive very little attention in most instances, often only grabbing headlines if something has gone horribly wrong at a company. These groups, however, remain important sources of guidance and accountability for executives.
The names of most directors at major companies will be unfamiliar to the average investor; former executives and fund managers tend to fill these roles.
But several companies include well-known executives, coaches, or government officials among their directors; below are eight profiles of such individuals.
Jack Dorsey, Disney
Dorsey, 38, made headlines recently when it was announced that he would lead Twitter (TWTR) and Square, both of which he co-founded. In addition to those responsibilities, he has served on the board of Walt Disney (DIS) since 2013.
Dorsey is joined on the Disney board by Facebook (FB) COO Sheryl Sandberg.
Al Gore, Apple
The man responsible for popularizing the term “Information Superhighway” joined the Apple (AAPL) board in March 2003.
When Gore ran for president in 2000, regulatory filings indicated a net worth between $700,000 and $1.9 million. Thanks in part to his Apple ties, Gore has become quite wealthy; as of February 2015, he reported owning about 441,000 shares. Those shares are worth about $52 million and pay Gore nearly $1 million in annual dividends.
Apple stock has appreciated nearly 120x since Gore joined the board.
Colin Powell, Salesforce
The former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff joined the Salesforce board in 2014. Powell has been a strategic limited partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins since 2005, and is a friend of Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff.
Powell’s membership on the board could also help Salesforce (CRM) ramp up its sales to government agencies.
John Thompson, Nike
The former Georgetown basketball coach is the second longest-serving director at Nike, behind only founder Phil Knight. Thompson coached Georgetown from 1972 until 1998 (he became a Nike director in 1991) and also coached the U.S. men in the 1988 Olympics — the last time NBA players didn’t represent the U.S.
Thompson reported ownership of about 19,300 shares of Nike NKE) in September 2015 (worth about $2.5 million). Earlier in 2015, he collected about $1.3 million from the sale of NKE shares.
Apple CEO Time Cook also serves on the Nike board.
Robert Gates, Starbucks
Robert Gates served as director of the CIA under George H.W. Bush, and later replaced Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense.
Gates stepped down from that post in 2011, and in 2012 joined the board of Starbucks (SBUX). “I have Starbucks to thank for keeping me caffeinated through many long days and nights during my years in Washington and couldn’t be more proud about the opportunity to play a part in helping the company navigate our increasingly complex world in the years ahead,” said Gates at the time.
Gates also serves as president of Boy Scouts of America.
Leon Panetta, Oracle
Leon Panetta also served as director of the CIA, and succeeded Gates as the Secretary of Defense. Previously, he had served as Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff and had been a congressman from California for nearly 20 years.
In early 2015 Panetta joined the board of Oracle (ORCL). Panetta previously served as a director for the New York Stock Exchange as well.
Marissa Mayer, Wal-Mart
Marissa Mayer, the 20th employee of Google, joined the board of Wal-Mart (WMT) in April 2012. Three months later, Mayer left Google to become the CEO at Yahoo (YHOO).
Mayer was just 36 when she joined the Wal-Mart board, making her the youngest director by several years at the time. She’s since been joined on the Wal-Mart board by Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram who was born in 1983 (making him about eight years younger than Mayer).
Charles Schwab, Yahoo
Joining Mayer on the Yahoo board is Charles Schwab, the founder of the brokerage that bears his name. Schwab was one of three new directors to join Yahoo in 2014, along with the company’s co-founder David Filo and former Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott.
Schwab and Mayer also serve together as trustees of the San Francisco Board of Modern Art.
This article, Surprising Corporate Board Members, first appeared on Dividend Reference.