Apple's 'Hotel Cupertino' Strategy in Play as COO Jeff Williams Retires [Gurman]

Apple is shaking up its leadership team as longtime Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams prepares to retire at the end of the year, according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The move is part of a long-planned succession that puts his deputy, Sabih Khan, in the top operations spot.

The transition, which Apple announced in July, will have Williams move to a new senior vice president role overseeing design, the Apple Watch, and the company's health initiatives until he leaves for good. But Gurman notes this is really just making their existing roles official, as Khan has already been running operations and Williams has been deeply involved in design and health projects for years.

Gurman frames the move as another example of Apple's "Hotel Cupertino" strategy, where retiring executives remain with the company in a reduced capacity. This has been the case with former leaders like Bob Mansfield, Jony Ive, and Dan Riccio.


However, Williams' transition is different. He has been given a brand new SVP title for what will be a short, several-month stint, and he will remain on Apple's executive team until his retirement. This gives him a more high-profile final role than other departing executives.

The shuffle also brings other changes. As expected, Sabih Khan will take over responsibility for the Greater China team and Apple's AppleCare group. Gurman reiterates that he expects the Apple Watch and health software teams to be moved under software chief Craig Federighi, while the design teams will be consolidated under CEO Tim Cook.

This is just the start of a broader management shake-up at the company. Gurman notes that while Tim Cook is expected to remain CEO for at least five more years, several other senior leaders are nearing retirement age. He suggests that in a few years, a number of fresh faces will be running the company, even if Cook is still at the helm. You can read all the details about that here.

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