Well, not THAT much power:

'Ive wants to spend more time in the UK where he wants his sons to go to school, the Times claims, but the Apple board has refused to support his relocation. The story quotes a family friend as saying that "they have told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them".'

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/pda/2011/feb/28/apple-j...

Sounds to me like HP-level stupidity from the Apple board.