Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, announced his resignation from Apple's Board of Directors due to potential conflicts as the two tech giants compete in similar markets.

Schmidt has served as a member of Apple's board since August 2006.

Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful, said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO in a statement.

Jobs said Schmidt could not function effectively as an Apple board members with Google entering more of Apple's core businesses, such as the Android mobile phone operating system and the Chrome operating system designed for personal computers.

Eric's effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recluse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple's Board.

Steve jobs Google Apple inc. Jobs