Maybe not consciously, but if the board is supposed to provide oversight it does not make any sense to put yourself and you friend as the chair of that oversigh

Maybe not consciously, but if the board is supposed to provide oversight it does not make any sense to put yourself and you friend as the chair of that oversight board. Perhaps in the "Tech Executive" mind having other people on the board does mean that putting yourself as the chair overseeing yourself is not the most blatant conflict of interest one can imagine. But undoubtedly this was constructed as a case of Obama giving a medal to himself from the start.