Apple upheaval: Environment head leaves, ex-Trump admin lawyer joins
Apple's management changes suggest a shift towards Trump-era alignment, with environmental and social issues potentially diminished.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch / heise medien)
The restructuring of Apple's executive leadership continues at record speed: Following the departure of the AI chief and the head of interface design, the senior manager responsible for environment and social initiatives, Lisa Jackson, will be leaving the company. Jackson, formerly head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Obama, has significantly advanced climate protection and renewable energy at Apple and is considered the architect of the "Apple 2030" project. The company's self-imposed goal is to operate climate-neutrally by 2030 – including its entire supply chain.
Apple also appoints new chief legal officer
Her position will apparently no longer exist: The division led by Jackson will be split up at the end of January, as Apple announced on Friday night. The teams responsible for environmental and social initiatives will henceforth report to the head of supply chain and logistics – and no longer directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The increasingly central area of "Government Affairs," which includes lobbying and communication with government agencies and was also previously under Jackson, will be headed by Apple's chief legal officer in the future. The company is also making a change here: the lawyer Kate Adams, who has so far hardly appeared in public, will retire next year. Her position as Apple's "General Counsel" will be held by newcomer Jennifer Newstead from March 2026, according to the company. She previously worked at Meta as chief legal officer. During the first Trump administration, Newstead served as Legal Adviser of the Department of State.
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Major upheaval at Apple – not just at the top
Apple's top management is undergoing its biggest upheaval in decades. Rumors of an imminent change at the top and a succession of CEO Tim Cook have also resurfaced recently. Apple's head of hardware technologies, Johny Srouji – who is responsible for chip development – is also exploring his options, it was recently reported. Apple has already filled the COO and CFO positions this year.
There also appear to be a conspicuously large number of departures at lower levels; Apple's AI division alone has reportedly lost numerous key employees in recent months – to Meta, among others. The company has lost dozens of specialists among its hardware engineers and designers who have apparently gone to OpenAI, as the Wall Street Journal reports.
(lbe)
