Exiting the Gap

Silicon Valley pioneer Steve Jobs has left the Gap Inc.'s board of directors, a week after the struggling retailer hired a new ceo.

Jobs, co-founder and ceo of Apple Computer Inc., joined the Gap board in 1999 — the same year that Gap's longtime leader, Millard “Mickey” Drexler, joined the personal computer maker's board.

Drexler retired as Gap's ceo last week, after the San Francisco-based company hired Paul Pressler to lead its efforts to reverse a 28-month sales slide. Pressler, who was chairman of Walt Disney Co.'s global theme park and resorts division, is expected to join Gap's board.

Gap said Jobs stepped down “to focus on other priorities.” Besides his duties at Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, Jobs also is CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, the maker of “Monsters Inc.” and several other movies.

Gap also announced that Penny Hughes, a former Coca-Cola executive in Europe with more than 14 years of international brand management experience, is joining its board. Hughes, 43, was an executive with Coca-Cola for 10 years in the United Kingdom and held extensive operational and strategic responsibilities in the company's international division.