Faced with a new challenge is Apple, an unprecedented wave of departures in the ranks of its executives, according to the Economic Times.
During the second half of 2022, the tech giant lost about a dozen high-ranking executives. Most of these individuals held the title of vice president, which is just below the senior vice president level that reports to CEO Tim Cook.
Important executives
The departures included vice presidents overseeing areas such as industrial design, information systems, Apple's cloud efforts, hardware and software engineering, privacy, emerging market sales, subscription services and procurement.
In previous years, Apple may have lost one or two key executives per year, such as when the head of its self-driving car project "moved" to Ford in 2021.
Interior upgrades
Of course, there has also been an influx of executives. Apple brought in a new chief people officer to take over from retail chief Deirde O'Brien and a chief information officer to replace Mary Demby and David Smoley.
But in most cases, the departures have led Apple to redistribute responsibilities or promote people from within. Electronic services vice president Anna Matthiasson has been replaced by Karen Rasmussen, while the responsibilities of Tony Blevins, who ran procurement, have been transferred to his peer, Dan Rosckes.
Sales VP in charge of emerging markets, Hugues Asseman, saw his role shared between Managing Director India Ashish Chowdhary and Senior Director Europe Juan Castellanos.
Software VP John Stauffer was replaced by Jeremy Sandmel and David Biderman. The role of services honcho Peter Stern was shared between Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser, head of service design Robert Konndrk, and corporate development VP Adrian Perica. Jeff Robbin, vice president of engineering services, will take over Michael Abbott's role as head of Cloud.
Some positions were left orphaned
In these examples, Apple had successors who could take over the departing employee's responsibilities. But in the case of Evans Hankey, the company's outgoing head of industrial design, Apple couldn't find a replacement. Instead, it forces individual members of the design team to report to Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams. Similarly, Apple has not replaced its data protection officer.
Most of the recent departures have been Apple veterans, people who have been with the company for more than 15 years. But in the case of vice presidents of design and services, among others, Apple lost executives in the prime of their careers who could, one day, potentially rise to the level of senior vice presidents.
Aged stems
Additionally, there are several Apple VPs who have been there for decades and could retire in the next few years.
Apple's top tier is in a similar position—10 of its top 12 executives are roughly the same age. Half of them joined before 2000, and the age difference between CEO Cook and his likely successor, CEO Williams, is only two years.
Apple's "old series" that helped to "restore" the company are also nearing the end of their careers. Former chief marketing officer Phil Schiller is taking on a smaller role at Apple Fellow focused on the App Store and media events.
The people at Apple believe that some executives at the director and senior manager levels (the two levels of management just below the vice president) are also considering leaving in the not-too-distant future.
Hard to tell the difference
The company has become more bureaucratic over the years, especially when it comes to product development. It's a huge company and that can mean it's hard for someone to make an individual difference. Internal politics and infighting between departments can make it even more difficult to retain top executives.
The company's resources have been diverted to longer-term initiatives, some of which may take years to complete. Some managers were likely upset about losing people on company projects like the company's mixed reality team and self-driving vehicle team.
Source of stress
Apple's very structure is a source of stress. The company is functionally organized in such a way that all teams contribute to its major products. For example, a VP of hardware engineering would help oversee parts of the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and AirPods.
And a software engineering leader will lead teams contributing to iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS, which work across dozens of hardware products.
This organization made sense in Apple's early days, but it led to increased product development delays, very limited resources, and extra engineering complexity.
The salaries
Finally, let's not forget one of the biggest reasons people leave a job: money. Apple stock fell nearly 30% last year, after three years of strong gains. This weighs on earnings. In the case of an Apple vice president, the dividends can be more than half the pay.
On Friday, Apple shareholders approved a new pay package for Tim Cook that included a roughly 40 percent cut. In total over 80% of his income in 2023 will be reduced, with 75% of this tied to the company's performance.
SOURCE: OT