Apple 'changes blood'

Several senior Apple executives have confirmed or announced plans to retire. The company is promoting a series of younger executives to succeed them.

Apple headquarters in California. Photo: NYT .

Apple’s senior leadership has received two retirement announcements in the past 12 months. With an aging management team, there are likely to be more changes in the near future.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman covered Luca Maestri's departure and Jeff Williams' impending departure from the executive ranks in his "Power On" newsletter. According to his sources, there are more departures coming from Apple's top leadership.

The specific target of these rumors has not been revealed. Gurman predicts that at least one big name will leave the company by 2026, or even as early as late 2025. A commenter below the post suggested that person is Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's head of retail and people, given her multiple roles.

Meanwhile, Apple’s two most recent retirement announcements came less than a year apart. In August 2024, it was confirmed that Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer (CFO), would be stepping down, with Kevan Parekh taking over at the end of the year.

After CEO Tim Cook's farewell speech during the October 2024 earnings call, Parekh made his first appearance in his new role during the January 2025 earnings call. Maestri remains at Apple as Vice President of Enterprise Services.

In July, COO Jeff Williams was announced to be retiring, handing over the position to Sabih Khan that month. However, Williams will remain on to oversee the design department and is expected to actually leave the position by the end of the year.

In both cases, the senior executives stepped aside for their successors but remained at Apple until their official retirements. According to Gurman, Apple deliberately timed these retirements to ensure the company’s interests.

Changes at the top that force Apple to restructure management roles are inevitable, but the age of many other senior members of the company also suggests that more changes are coming in the years ahead.

Greg Joswiak, head of global marketing, is now 61, Sabih Khan is 59, and Eddy Cue, head of services, is 60. In addition, Tim Cook also shared in 2021 that he would probably leave Apple within the next 10 years.

This shows that Apple is facing a huge task in preparing a succession plan. Many members of the company's board of directors are nearing retirement age, while the current CEO has just over half a decade left in his job.

Source: https://znews.vn/apple-thay-mau-post1577808.html