Dive Brief:
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Apple Inc. Thursday filled its long-vacant COO spot, which had been held by now CEO Tim Cook, appointing longtime executive, Jeff Williams, to the position, amid other changes in top posts.
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The company expanded the role SVP of worldwide marketing Philip W. Schiller's job to also include heading up the company’s App Store. That area has been led by SVP of Internet software and services Eddy Cue, who is now more free to tackle other initiatives, including negotiating television rights.
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Johny Srouji, who spearheaded development of the A4 processor, which has been integral to developing the latest iPhones and iPads, has been named SVP of hardware technologies, making him a member of the executive team reporting directly to Cook.
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Finally, Tor Myhren, chief creative officer and president of advertising agency Grey New York, will join Apple as VP of marketing communications early next year.
Dive Insight:
These shifts are seen as part of a long term strategy at Apple and not so much a change in leadership approach.
“We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple’s executive team,” Cook said in a statement. “As we come to the end of the year, we’re recognizing the contributions already being made by two key executives. Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I’ve ever worked with, and Johny’s team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year.”
The change-up continues the mark Cook is making on the company after the death of founder-CEO Steve Jobs. Cook brought on Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts last year as chief of retail, and she is now taking bold steps to bring an upscale vibe to stores.
