Disney executive chairman Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook will be among a list of 70 people that will be part of a business recovery task force in California named by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday.
The task force’s goal is to help California residents recover as fast as possible from the economic hardships brought by the coronavirus pandemic. It will be co-chaired by former presidential candidate Tom Steyer and Newsom’s chief of staff Ann O’Leary.
The panel will also include Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, as well as four former state governors: Pete Wilson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis and Jerry Brown. The group will meet twice a month throughout 2020.
Newsom said that more than three million residents have filed for unemployment, describing the state as in “a pandemic-induced recession.”
California currently has more than 28,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the sixth most in the country. The state is home to more than 40 million people, making it the most populous in the country. Overall, there are more than 680,000 confirmed cases in the U.S. with nearly 36,000 deaths.
On Thursday, the Trump administration laid out its proposed three-phase plan for how states should reopen their economics and loosen social distancing requirements. California’s stay-at-home order is currently set to run through May 15.
Despite stepping down as Disney CEO in February, Iger has reportedly reasserted control as the company navigates the massive economic impact caused by the coronavirus. Bob Chapek was named as his successor, though Iger retained the title of executive chairman with every intention of passing the baton. But in the weeks following his departure, the coronavirus pandemic forced closures of all of Disney’s theme parks and cruise ships.