Apple operations chief to retire in major changing of guard

Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams is retiring as the company’s long-time No 2, marking a blockbuster changing of the guard for the iPhone maker.

Williams will step down as COO this month before retiring from the company later this year, Apple said in a statement on Tuesday. He will continue to oversee the design team, as well as managing health initiatives, until his departure. Sabih Khan will replace Williams as COO, while Apple’s design team will shift to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, Apple said.

Williams has been Cook’s top deputy for more than a decade, overseeing the company’s supply chain and engineering for the Apple Watch. The executive also ran the company’s health initiatives and AppleCare customer service. Williams has long been known as a key decision-maker for Apple, and his departure is one of the most significant in the company’s history.

“Jeff’s importance and contributions to Apple have been enormous, although perhaps not always obvious to the general public,” said Tony Blevins, a former Apple operations vice-president who reported to Williams until the end of 2022. “As a shareholder, I am saddened. Time takes its toll, and it’s almost as if the band is dissolving. Jeff will be sorely missed.”

Williams, 62, joined the company in 1998 and took the COO job in 2015. He previously worked at IBM starting in the 1980s.

At Apple, he was known for crafting a supply chain that could handle hundreds of millions of devices a year while sourcing components from thousands of suppliers around the world.