Apple legal chief joins board of ski resort company

Bruce Sewell, Apple senior vice president and general counsel, today joined the board of directors at Vail Resorts, a resort operator in the U.S.Sewell came over to Apple from Intel in 2009, and has been with the company during its substantial legal efforts against Samsung, HTC, Nokia, and others over patents and other intellectual property. The move is noteworthy given a long period during which Apple's core executives kept off the boards of other companies. That policy appears to have softened since the passing of co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs. For instance, iTunes and iCloud chief Eddy Cue joined the board of car maker Ferrari last November. For his part, Apple CEO Tim Cook joined Nike's board in 2005 back when he was in charge of the company's operations.In a news release about Sewell's extended role, Vail Resorts notes that Sewell was once on a ski patrol team in New York, and spent a stint between college and his law degree at George Washington University skiing around the country.Sewell appeared nearly every day in court during Apple's U.S. trial with Samsung in San Jose, Calif., sitting in the same seat just behind the company's outside counsel. (via 9to5Mac)