Microsoft chief operating officer Bob Herbold finally
succeeded in getting elected to the board of the Software and Information
Industry Association, an influential trade group that has frequently
lobbied against the software giant.
But lest Microsoft get too
emboldened, the trade group's 1,200 members also voted in executives from
four of Microsoft's fiercest foes, including Mike Morris, general counsel
at Sun Microsystems. In all, seven others won seats on the board.
Herbold's election marks the first time Microsoft has been represented since the Justice Department filed an antitrust action against the company in October 1997. The elections also represent the first time a Sun executive has taken a seat on
the board of the SIIA.
The group has taken a number of controversial and high-profile positions against Microsoft. Most recently, SIIA lobbied the Justice Department and 19 state attorneys general to consider breaking up the software giant should the agencies prevail in an antitrust lawsuit that is pending in a Washington, D.C. federal court.
Along with a handful of other large members, Microsoft is the organization's biggest dues payer, shelling out $125,000 per year for its membership.
Herbold spent the past year trying to get a seat on board of the Software Publishers Association, the predecessor to the SIIA before it merged in January with the Information Industry Association. He lost a general election last April, and a month later his bid to get nominated by the remaining board also failed.
This time around, however, Herbold was the top vote-getter, according to a SIIA spokesman.
"Bob is honored to have been elected by his colleagues at SIIA and he looks
forward to working on issues that face the industry," said Microsoft
spokesman Tom Pilla.
But representatives from a number of Microsoft foes besides Sun also were
elected. They include Oracle general
counsel Dan Cooperman, who was reelected, Apple Computer vice president Clent
Richardson, and America Online associate
general counsel Kent Walker.
What effect will the new board have on the hard line the SIIA has taken
against Microsoft's business practices? Representatives of Microsoft, Sun,
and the SIIA all preferred to focus on other issues.
"It's a mistake to view this election through the prism of the antitrust
issue," said Ken Wasch, the organization's president. "Bob Herbold joins
this board with a common interest on encryption, copyright, and privacy
issues."
Other members elected to the board include: Sue Collins, senior vice
president at Jostens
Learning, and Mark Walsh, president of VerticalNet.
James Coane, president, of N2K, was also
reelected.