Apple today announced that COO Jeff Williams will retire later this year, with Sabih Khan set to assume the COO role later this month.In addition to his role as COO, however, Williams is also responsible for overseeing Apple’s design team.Once Williams officially retires later this year, Apple says that the design team will begin reporting directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
From Apple’s press release today: Williams assumed some responsibility of the design team in 2019 when Jony Ive, Apple’s then-chief design officer, departed the company to form LoveFrom, his own design company.At the time, Apple said that Evans Hankey, vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design, would report directly to Williams.Evans Hankey departed Apple in 2023 and is now working alongside Ive and OpenAI on a mysterious hardware product.
In conjunction with Hankey’s departure, Apple eliminated its “industrial design chief” role altogether, opting to shift full responsibility for Apple’s core industrial design team to Williams.With Williams now set to retire later this year, the design team will report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.Williams also oversees the Apple Watch and Apple’s broader Health initiatives and will continue to do so until his retirement later this year.
As of right now, Apple hasn’t shared specific details on who will take the reins of those teams.My favorite iPhone accessories: Anker Power Bank with built-in USB-C Cable Charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time Bring wireless CarPlay to any car Anker MagSafe Power Bank Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon. You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop.
Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel
