Tech Giant Apple Appoints Its First Ever Chief People Officer As CEO Tim Cook Rejigs Management

At a time when most tech giants have laid off thousands of employees and Apple has avoided that to date, the tech giant is overhauling the way it hires and supports employees.

World's first company to hit a $3 trillion market value, Apple, is appointing its first-ever Chief People Officer to handle HR duties.

Carol Surface To Head Apple's HR

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The company is naming Carol Surface to the new role, CEO Tim Cook said in a memo to employees. That moves the responsibilities from Deirdre O¡¯Brien, who has long run Apple¡¯s human resources in addition to serving as its retail chief ¡ª a role she¡¯ll continue to hold, as per a Bloomberg report.

Newly appointed Surface ¡°brings an incredible depth of experience, which will be invaluable in supporting our teams around the world and building on everything that makes Apple so special,¡± the company said in a separate statement. Apple added that O¡¯Brien will continue to run retail ¡°with the same excellence and care that has helped our teams do their best work and deliver unparalleled customer service.¡±

She was hired from Medtronic Plc, a health technology company with about 100,000 employees. Cook said in the memo that Surface will report to him and begin at the Cupertino, California-based technology giant in March. At Apple, she¡¯ll oversee a workforce that numbered 164,000 at the end of the company¡¯s last fiscal year in September.

Also Read: Apple Earns Nearly Rs 1.5 Lakh Profit Every Second, Says Research

Significant Shift In Apple's Management

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This hiring marks a significant shift for Apple¡¯s management team. In addition to giving more clout to the HR role, it should free up O¡¯Brien to handle an increasingly challenging retail operation. Apple¡¯s retail chain is pushing into new countries and contending with unionization drives at stores in the US.

O¡¯Brien, a three-decade Apple veteran, had been named to the dual role of head of retail and human resources chief in 2019 upon the departure of former retail head Angela Ahrendts. O¡¯Brien also continues to oversee the company¡¯s online store, which saw its own head depart last year, as per the Bloomberg report.

In his memo, CEO Cook said that the company had always planned to eventually hire a new head of human resources when O¡¯Brien added retail to her responsibilities.

¡°When Deirdre took on the dual role of leading both the retail and people teams, we agreed that as she built up and supported our People Team and helped create a more inclusive Apple, we would also prepare to transition to a dedicated leader to take the organization forward,¡± he said. Cook added that O¡¯Brien is excited to ¡°focus more fully¡± on Apple retail and that she will work with Surface for a number of months during the transition.

Recent Reshuffle At Apple

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The reshuffle is the latest change to Apple¡¯s leadership team this year. The company recently increased the foothold of Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams by deciding that its industrial designers would report directly to him, rather than a hardware design chief, as per the report. Adrian Perica, its head of corporate development, also is adding new responsibilities after the departure of Peter Stern, a former top lieutenant to services chief Eddy Cue.

Also Read: Explained: How Apple Is Becoming More Like A Bank

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