Who gets to run the turbulent Apple?
On 13 May, Apple's senior management announced a shake-up of the company's executive team. This follows the departure of over ten executives over the past year. The new appointments will bring in twelve new candidates for key roles, including CEO Tim Cook. This could signal a critical period for Apple as it looks to bring in new talent to drive its future growth.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is currently facing a serious "succession challenge". In addition to Cook, many other senior leaders at Apple are approaching retirement age. This could result in a period of instability with multiple senior leaders leaving simultaneously. Identifying suitable replacements for all key roles is a significant challenge for Apple.
In an article published by Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman (Mark Gurman), the twelve most important departments at Apple were analysed. These included operations, finance, general counsel, software engineering, and others. The next candidate for the role of CEO is likely to be a hidden dragon. Previously, Gurman published an article analysing Apple's hardware engineering director, John Ternus. Ternus's excellent work ability and the future of the post for a longer period of time were also discussed. It was concluded that Ternus is the most likely to succeed Tim Cook as Apple's next CEO. Additionally, one of Apple's most senior designers, Duncan Kerr, has recently left the company.
At this juncture, all of Apple's major industrial designers have departed, and Gurman anticipates further departures in the near future. Apple is facing a significant change at the executive level.
Apple's executive team is a closely-knit unit that has remained virtually unchanged for over a decade. The team, known internally as "ET", includes many executives of a similar age to CEO Cook, who are nearing the end of their tenure. This means that the likelihood of a wide-ranging restructuring within Apple is growing.
The most recent Apple employee to leave is designer Duncan Kerr, who joined Apple in 1999 and is one of the company's most senior living designers. Gurman predicts that Kerr's departure will be followed by further departures in the future. When Jony Ive left Apple in 2019, it was anticipated that there would be some turnover in the design team, but not the entire team. In fact, the majority of Apple's main industrial designers, as well as a significant number of user interface designers, have now departed from the company. Some of them have established their own consulting firms, while the remainder have joined Ivey at his design firm, LoveFrom.
There are still significant questions surrounding Apple's design and the impact that design team will have on the next batch of products. There is considerable doubt as to whether Apple's current organisational structure will prove sustainable in the long term. Gurman believes that Apple needs to recruit a new design leader to lead the company into the post-Ivy era. If this is not possible, Apple should consider engaging the services of an external design firm.
The current top management team at Apple is comprised of long-serving veterans, with their tenure approaching its conclusion. As a result, the company's senior management is likely to undergo a significant change. In addition to the departure of senior designer Cole, almost all of the designers from the Ivy era have left. For Apple, the departure of designers and top executives will undoubtedly present a series of internal and external challenges. These include the continuation of the design concept, the future stability of the team, the market and consumer confidence. However, this may also present new development opportunities.
