Apple’s first Chief People Officer (CPO), Carol Surface, is leaving the company after less than two years in the role. Surface, who joined Apple in early 2023, was responsible for overseeing human resources, inclusion, diversity, and recruiting for the tech giant’s 160,000-strong workforce.
With Surface’s departure, Deirdre O’Brien, a 30-year Apple veteran, will resume her previous responsibilities of managing both the retail and people teams. O’Brien had initially handed over the human resources duties to Surface when the Chief People Officer role was created.
This change is part of a bigger reshuffling of Apple’s executive team.
- Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri is stepping down at the end of the year but will continue to oversee certain functions.
- Dan Riccio, a senior engineering executive who led the Vision Pro project, is retiring this month.
- The company’s procurement chief, Dan Rosckes, and App Store head, Matt Fischer, are also exiting.
Surface’s quick departure is considered rare for an executive at her level of seniority at Apple. The company has had few instances of such short tenures among high-ranking executives in recent years.
These changes came as Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, dealt with a change in the guard at the Cupertino-based technology giant.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Surface was still listed on Apple’s executive biographies website, but a company spokesperson confirmed the moves to the press.
If you didn’t already know, Apple ensures that the “person quitting the company doesn’t actually leave,” though I doubt this would be the case with Surface.
More here.