by , 5:25 PM EDT, October 9th, 2000
In a surprise announcement to day, Apple has announced that Mitch Mandich, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, will be retiring in December of this year. Mr. Mandich came to Apple in 1997 from NeXT when that company was purchased by Apple. No reason was given by Apple for the departure, but the company's press release includes warm comments from Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. According to Apple:
Apple® (Nasdaq: AAPL - news) today announced that Mitch Mandich, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, will be retiring from Apple at the end of December.
"Mitch has been a key member of Apple's senior management team during the past three years, and has led our sales efforts with vigor and integrity," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Mitch plans to retire and spend more time with his family. We will miss him."
The company has a search underway for Mandich's replacement. Tim Cook, Apple's senior vice president of Operations, will assume Mandich's responsibilities until a replacement is named.
You can read Mr. Mandich's Executive Profile at Apple's Web site. From that Profile:
Mandich was previously senior vice president of North American Sales. Prior to that position he was vice president of Apple's North America Business Division. Before joining Apple in February 1997, he was vice president of Worldwide Sales and Services at NeXT Software where he developed and led the strategy for Internet and client/server sales to enterprise customers. Mandich brings with him more than 15 years experience in the client/server industry.
Before joining NeXT, Mandich served as senior vice president of Americas Sales and Marketing at Pyramid Technology, a SIEMENS Nixdorf Company, where he led the company to growth and profitability.
You can find more information about Apple at their Web site.
We don't think that either scenario is the case though. Mr. Mandich has been given credit for much of the steady increase in sales and changes Apple's distribution channels during the last 3 years. He has accomplished a lot during his tenure, and Mr. Jobs is known to be fond of the people he brought from NeXT with him. The real story here is that a variety of things have probably contributed to this change, including Apple's current stock downturn and a genuine desire for Mr. Mandich to spend time with his family. The Executive Team that has led Apple since the return of Steve Jobs has worked their butts off for a very long time now.
All that said, clearly Apple does need to make some changes, and we can hope that whoever replaces Mr. Mandich will perform as well as he has. In the meanwhile, we offer a Mac Observer Salute to Mr. Mandich and thank him for his hard work in bringing the Mac to more people! We wish him well in his next venture.