Apple Inc. is experiencing its most significant leadership upheaval in decades, with a wave of senior executives and numerous engineers stepping down. The company is now grappling with the potential departure of Johny Srouji, its highly respected Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, who oversees Apple's crucial in-house chip development. Srouji has reportedly told CEO Tim Cook he is seriously considering leaving the company in the near future.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} ### Key Executives Depart, Reshaping Leadership Team In recent weeks and months, Apple has seen a series of high-profile departures and retirements across critical divisions. John Giannandrea, Apple's Senior Vice President for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is set to retire in spring 2026. He will transition to an advisory role. His responsibilities were restructured before his retirement announcement. Amar Subramanya, formerly of Microsoft, will succeed Giannandrea, reporting to Craig Federighi to lead AI foundation-model development and research.^{[8][9][1][2][10][4][11][6][7]} Alan Dye, Apple's longtime head of user-interface design, left to become Chief Design Officer at Meta Platforms, effective December 31, 2025.^{[8][9][12][1][2][13][10][4][11][6]} His exit follows a broader unraveling of Apple's design team since Jony Ive's departure in 2019. Many designers who worked under Ive have since left the company.^[13][14] The company also announced the retirements of two key legal and policy executives. Kate Adams, Apple's General Counsel since 2017, will retire in late 2026. Lisa Jackson, Vice President for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, is also retiring in late January 2026. Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams as General Counsel and head of government affairs starting March 1, 2026.^{[9][12][1][2][15][3][4][11]} Jackson's government affairs staff will report to Newstead.^[11] These exits are part of a broader shift at the top. Jeff Williams, Apple's Chief Operating Officer, retired in November 2025 after a decade in the role.^{[12][2][10][14][4][11][6][7]} Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri stepped into a smaller role at the start of 2025 and is expected to retire soon. Kevan Parekh replaced Maestri in January 2025.^{[1][2][10][14][11]} ### Hardware Chief Johny Srouji Considers Departure Adding to the leadership uncertainty, Johny Srouji, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, has told CEO Tim Cook that he is seriously considering leaving the company. Srouji, a central figure in Apple's highly successful in-house chip program, has also informed colleagues that he intends to join another company if he ultimately departs.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} Srouji joined Apple in 2008 and spearheaded the development of the A4 chip, the company's first in-house system-on-a-chip. He has since overseen the creation of all A-series chips for iPhones and iPads, and the M-series processors for Macs. His work has been crucial in Apple's transition away from Intel chips, significantly improving device performance and battery life.^[3][4][6][7] Apple CEO Tim Cook is reportedly attempting to retain Srouji, offering him substantial compensation and potentially the role of Chief Technology Officer.^[3][4] However, some internal sources suggest Srouji may prefer not to work under a different CEO, even with an expanded title.^[2] If Srouji does leave, Apple would likely consider his top lieutenants, Zongjian Chen or Sribalan Santhanam, as replacements.^[1][2] Losing Srouji would pose a significant risk to Apple's chip development roadmap and its silicon edge.^[7] ### Talent Drain Hits Apple's AI and Engineering Ranks Beyond the executive level, Apple is facing a substantial talent drain, particularly in its artificial intelligence division. Dozens of engineers have left the company, with many moving to rivals such as Meta Platforms Inc. and OpenAI.^{[1][2][13][10][7]} This exodus threatens to hinder Apple's efforts to catch up in the rapidly evolving field of generative AI, an area where it has struggled to make a significant mark.^{[2][10][7][16]} Several key AI engineers have defected to Meta, which has been aggressively poaching talent with lucrative compensation packages. Ruoming Pang, who managed Apple's foundation models team of about 100 employees, left for Meta after reportedly being offered tens of millions of dollars annually. Pang's team was responsible for developing the large language models used in Apple Intelligence features like email summaries and Genmoji.^[15][10][16] Jian Zhang, who led AI research for robotics at Apple for a decade, joined Meta's Robotics Studio in September. Ke Yang, who was appointed to lead Apple's ChatGPT-style AI search initiative, also moved to Meta in October.^[10] Apple's AI robotics software team and user interface organization have also experienced widespread departures.^[2] The departures come as Apple has faced setbacks in its AI development. The company announced in June 2024 that it would deliver a dramatically improved Siri, but later postponed the overhaul to March 2026 due to quality issues.^[10][16] Reports indicate Apple is now testing Google's Gemini chatbot to power Siri, a tacit admission of its internal AI development challenges.^[10] The ongoing discussions about potentially relying on third-party AI technology for Siri have reportedly impacted the morale of Apple's foundation models team.^[16] ### Strategic Shifts and Succession Planning Underway These executive and engineering departures collectively represent one of the most tumultuous periods in CEO Tim Cook's tenure.^{[2][10][6][7]} The changes signal a coordinated leadership transformation aimed at preparing Apple for its next strategic chapter, focusing on AI development, regulatory challenges, and CEO succession planning.^[8] Tim Cook, who turned 65 recently, has been the subject of ongoing speculation regarding his own retirement. While people close to him suggest he is unlikely to leave imminently, succession planning has been underway for years. John Ternus, Apple's 50-year-old Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, is widely considered by employees to be the frontrunner candidate for CEO.^{[8][1][2][15][14][6]} Ternus oversees Apple's hardware division and is highly regarded by Cook.^[1] Apple is attempting to mitigate the talent drain by offering stronger compensation packages to key employees and bringing in outside talent, such as Amar Subramanya and Jennifer Newstead, to strengthen its capabilities in AI, design, and regulation.^[8][9][1][2] The company is working to rebuild its ranks and position itself to thrive in the AI era.^[2] The current shifts are reshaping Apple's internal power structure, with more authority flowing to executives like John Ternus, services chief Eddy Cue, software head Craig Federighi, and new COO Sabih Khan.^[2] Federighi has become Apple's de facto AI chief.^[2][16] Apple's leadership is navigating a complex period of transition. While some departures are due to retirement, many executives and engineers are moving to rival companies, highlighting competitive dynamics in the tech industry.^[2][15][10] The company faces the challenge of accelerating its AI initiatives and maintaining its innovative edge amidst a significant shake-up of its key personnel.

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