Key Manager: Apple COO Jeff Williams Officially Retired
After a transition period, the farewell has now taken place: Apple CEO's right-hand man is leaving the iPhone manufacturer.
Apple's former COO Jeff Williams during an interview a few years ago.
(Image: dpa, Asa Mathat/Re/code)
An era is coming to an end at Apple: Jeff Williams, long-time Chief Operating Officer (COO) under CEO Tim Cook, left the company over the weekend. Williams' portrait simultaneously disappeared from Apple's official management website. According to a Bloomberg report, there was also recently in Cupertino an official farewell party, attended by many Apple dignitaries.
Responsibilities Shifted Since Summer
It had already been known since July that Williams would leave. Since then, the COO has gradually handed over tasks he held in addition to his regular management position. Arguably the most important, the COO position, went to long-time Apple employee Sabih Khan. Khan himself has been with Apple for 30 years and is not much younger than Williams, but is still continuing. Responsibility for the Apple Watch division is being shared: watchOS goes to software chief Craig Federighi, and the watch's hardware to hardware chief John Ternus. Eddy Cue, services chief, is taking over the Health and Fitness+ areas, which Williams had also co-managed.
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The design area remained unclear until recently. However, Molly Anderson (Industrial Design) and Alan Dye (Software and Interfaces) will continue to report directly to CEO Tim Cook. This is reminiscent of the past, when Jony Ive reported directly to Steve Jobs, but Jobs was very “hands-on” when it came to design. For Apple, Williams' departure is the biggest upheaval since 2019, when Jony Ive left the company.
Rumors About CEO Succession
As an operations specialist, Williams was a key contact person for Tim Cook, who himself was a top executive in manufacturing and logistics before rising to CEO; he was considered the boss's right-hand man. The change is therefore significant. Most recently, the Financial Times wrote that Apple could accelerate discussions about Cook's own succession and initiate a change as early as 2026. John Ternus, the head of hardware, is still considered a hot candidate.
This would put a product man at the helm of the company again, from whom many hope for increased innovation. Cook is now 65 years old. If the rumors are true, he could first move to the chairmanship of the Board of Directors and become its chairman. Steve Jobs also did this shortly before he passed away in 2011.
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