Bob Bridger, Apple's senior vice president of retail real estate, is reportedly planning on retiring soon, making him the last of the senior executives that worked under former retail boss Ron Johnson to leave the company.
Apple real estate VP Bob Bridger ready to retire
Mr. Bridger didn't say why he's planning on retiring, nor has an official announcement been made. He apparently told coworkers about his plan during a meeting last week, according to 9to5Mac.
During his ten year stint at Apple, Mr. Bridger has been responsible for negotiating lease deals for new stores and finding locations for those stores.
Vice president of retail Jerry McDougal left Apple after 12 years just over a two years ago, and Steve Cano was given broader responsibilities over sales with the company shortly after that. Assuming Mr. Bridger really is retiring, that will wrap up the Johnson-era leadership for Apple's retail program.
Ron Johnson came to Apple from Target when Steve Jobs was CEO to oversee the creation of Apple's retail store program. After building up the company's retail presence for several years he left to run JC Penney, but was later let go because his ideas to revitalize the retailer didn't mesh with the board of director's.
Angela Ahrendts now runs Apple's retail division, and if the insider reports are right, she's about to have the opportunity to get a new retail real estate vice president