Freed By Amazon, John Doerr Cheers iPad–Will Google Care?
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) last month disclosed that John Doerr would not stand for re-election as a board member at the company’s annual meeting.
While Doerr reportedly received scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission over his board roles at increasingly competing companies Amazon and Google Inc. (GOOG), his close relationship with a third tech giant may have been the final straw.
Last Wednesday, Doerr, a general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, stood at a press conference to announce the doubling of the venture firm’s iFund to $200 million and to praise Apple’s (AAPL) forthcoming iPad–a device that clearly will have an impact on Amazon’s Kindle.
“We believe it’ll rule the world,” Doerr said. “I’ve touched it; I’ve held it and caressed it….It feel gorgeous. It isn’t a big iPhone, but it is a big deal.”
