| | | Succession at Apple: The Insiders Poised to Take Over Top Roles
Apple’s management team is made up of longtime executives nearing the end of their tenures. That means a broad shake-up is increasingly likely. While John Ternus could be Apple’s next CEO, the company will also need to find new leaders for its top divisions. Also: Thoughts on new iPads, accessories and the M4 chip, and another Apple designer hits the exits.
Apple Inc.’s executive team is a tight-knit ensemble that has barely changed for more than a decade. And many of the people in the group, known internally as the ET, are about the same age — within a few years of Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.
That means Apple faces a broader succession challenge than just finding a replacement for Cook. Many of its top leaders could step down around the same time.
In my latest feature for Bloomberg Businessweek, I reported that Apple hardware engineering chief John Ternus has emerged as a likely long-term successor to Cook. Already, he’s become an increasingly public face of Apple. After unveiling iPads last week, he’s set to deliver the commencement speech at Penn’s engineering school on May 18. And he’s not yet 50, so his career has plenty of runway left. (If Cook were to go anywhere in the nearer term, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams is a possibility as well.)
Beyond the CEO, the lieutenants in charge of engineering, marketing, services, finance and other functions are arguably just as critical to Apple’s success — if not more.
Below, I discuss the key players who will likely become the next leaders of those critical organizations, with the candidates in bold:
Operations: This group probably has the deepest bench of potential successors in the company. Jeff Williams has been chief operating officer since 2015 and his likely replacement is his top deputy, Senior Vice President Sabih Khan. Khan already serves on Apple’s executive team (he took Jony Ive’s slot in 2019 after the designer left the company), giving him an inside track. Khan oversees the entire supply chain, and it probably wouldn’t be too much to give him the AppleCare support division as well. If Khan is promoted, Priya Balasubramaniam is a near-lock to be Apple’s next senior vice president of operations — and probably, one day, a future Apple COO. One big question is where Apple puts the design team when Williams retires. The individual industrial designers currently report to him directly, but that’s been a recent change.
Finance: Luca Maestri has run Apple’s finance function since taking over for Peter Oppenheimer in 2014. Maestri joined Apple in 2013 as corporate controller, a fairly clear sign he was in line for the CFO job. There’s been no equivalent outside hire in the CFO’s office yet, but Maestri has been grooming finance Vice President Kevan Parekh to eventually take over. While not a well-known name, Parekh is an instrumental executive at Apple who often reports directly to Cook on important financial and sales matters. In a sign of his increased importance, he recently assumed the responsibilities — and office — of Saori Casey, the senior Apple finance executive who is now the CFO of Sonos Inc.
General Counsel: Kate Adams joined Apple in 2017, and she’s already one of the company’s longest-serving general counsels in its history. Bruce Sewell, her predecessor, held the role for about eight years, but the position was a revolving door before him. It’s a demanding job, especially at a time when Apple is under regulatory pressure at home and abroad. It’s also the rare high-ranking role at Apple that is usually filled from outside the company. But Adams has deputies, including Kyle Andeer and BJ Watrous, that could probably hold the position.
Software Engineering: Craig Federighi has been Apple’s top software executive since 2012. He replaced Scott Forstall, the original iOS chief, during Cook’s first management overhaul. It doesn’t appear that Federighi is going anywhere soon, but most people at Apple believe his No. 2 and eventual successor is probably Sebastien Marineau. That executive currently oversees a number of iOS functions, including widgets, the home screen and privacy. But some believe that Jon Andrews, who runs some of Apple’s underlying software technologies, would be a better fit.
Hardware Engineering: If Ternus does indeed replace Cook in the CEO job, the hardware engineering team will need a new boss. The executive has several key lieutenants, including Kate Bergeron, Deniz Teoman and Eugene Kim. Of Ternus’ current direct reports, most people believe Kim and Bergeron are the likeliest options. But some of the smartest minds at Apple believe Ternus’ replacement should end up being Mike Rockwell, a respected engineer who just launched the Vision Pro. If the headset ultimately becomes a success, you can expect his profile to rise. One complicating factor, however, is the precarious Ternus and Rockwell relationship: Ternus hasn’t been a Vision Pro proponent while Rockwell has never reported to him directly.
Hardware Technologies: There’s really no replacing Johny Srouji, who runs his hardware technologies organization with authority and commands more respect than many executives. But there will ultimately be a time when Srouji steps away — probably after he brings Apple’s long-awaited modem chip to market. Most people within his organization believe that Sri Santhanam is due to eventually take over. He’s responsible for the main chips that go into all of Apple’s devices, including the iPhone and Mac. Less likely possibilities include Tim Millet, who introduced the M4 chip during Apple’s presentation for the new iPad Pro.
Marketing: Greg Joswiak has been running this group since 2020, after taking over for Phil Schiller. His No. 2 is Bob Borchers, who oversees marketing for all of Apple’s products. If Joswiak were to depart in the foreseeable future, his deputy would step up. Borchers helped run iPhone marketing before leaving Apple for a stint beginning in 2009. He returned in 2019 and, according to all accounts, hasn’t lost any of the reality-distortion powers needed by Apple’s chief marketer. Borchers is only a few years younger than Joswiak, and the company has a longer-term replacement in the wings as well: Kaiann Drance, a vice president overseeing iPhone marketing.
Artificial Intelligence: John Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018, is known to run his team mostly as its own island. With the industry’s recent AI obsession, his role has become more important than ever. But he doesn’t really have a top deputy that could replace him should he depart. Given that the AI role was created mostly for him, the smart money is on Apple eventually throwing the AI group back into software engineering should a No. 2 to Giannandrea not emerge in time. Another possibility is a having a non-AI software executive take over. In that case, look no further than Vice President Kevin Lynch.
Retail: Deirdre O’Brien has run Apple’s retail operations since 2019 and that job has become her only responsibility since unloading human resources duties last year on new Chief People Officer Carol Surface. Apple has only had a few retail chiefs in its history besides O’Brien: Ron Johnson, John Browett and Angela Ahrendts. Johnson was the pioneer of Apple’s retail chain, and his departure in 2011 was a blow. Browett, an outsider, was Cook’s first big hire and an almost immediate flop. He didn’t even make it to one holiday season. Ahrendts, another outsider, lasted a sometimes tumultuousfive years. Apple doesn’t have any obvious successors to O’Brien, which means it might go for an outsider yet again when she leaves. O’Brien has been at Apple for more than three decades, even longer than Cook. A deputy like Vanessa Trigub could probably at least run the group on an interim basis.
Services: This is the domain of Eddy Cue, who oversees a massive number of properties. The group includes the TV+ streaming platform, Music, Maps, the Apple Card, iCloud, Fitness+, applications like Final Cut Pro, search ads and Apple Pay. That’s in addition to engineering, interface design and marketing organizations. There’s no single person at Apple who could — or should — replace the uniquely suited Cue as the senior vice president in charge of all of those areas. Instead, look for Apple to split Cue’s role into entertainment and services — with Oliver Schusser gaining oversight over the first part, and Jeff Robbinadding applications, iCloud and Maps to his current job handling engineering. Apple could promote both executives as part of this shift, but the cleaner move may be to elevate Schusser and then move Robbin’s organization below Federighi.
App Store and Apple Events: When Schiller stepped down as marketing chief to give Joswiak a run at the job, he took on a different role: an Apple Fellow in charge of the App Store and Events. When he departs, you can bet that Apple Events will be added to the marketing or communications groups. With the App Store, the company may have to tread more carefully. If Apple integrates the team into its software engineering or services organizations, regulators may object. So the division probably will retain its own boss. The problem: Schiller has no obvious successor in place to take over that group — and nobody within Apple has his cross-functional ability, stature or knowledge of the operation. One person called him virtually irreplaceable. The good news: With regulators trying to break up the App Store, he seems content to stay and fight.
Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives: Lisa Jackson, who has held this role for over a decade, isn’t someone who can be easily replaced. As a former government official and ex-Environment Protection Agency head, Jackson is well-qualified to run the combined environment, policy and social initiative division. People with that resume are hard to find, so it’s likely Apple will break up Jackson’s role and split it across at least a couple of people. When Jackson retires, look for Sarah Chandler, vice president of environment and supply chain innovation, to lead the ecological efforts. As for government affairs, look for a senior hire out of Washington, such as a former presidential cabinet member.
Link: bloomberg.com |
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