Tim Cook’s right hand retires after 27 years in Apple. It does so in full crisis of the company

The departure of Jeff Williams as director of operations marks a turning point in the Cupertino company. With 27 years in Apple and considered the main candidate to replace Cook, Your withdrawal leave a vacuum in the succession line just when the company is going through One of its most delicate crises in artificial intelligence.

An unexpected change at the least timely moment. Williams, 62, announces his retirement after almost three decades building the Apple logistics empire. His march coincides with A talent bleeding that Includes Ruoming Pangthe engineer who led the AI ​​models team Apple Intelligence. The company loses two key figures at a time when its artificial intelligence strategy wobbles.

The new figure in charge of operations. Sabih Khan, a veteran who has been in Apple for 30 years, takes the reins as the new director of operations. Khan has been the architect of the Apple global supply chain during the last six years, managing from manufacturing to logistics. His appointment represents continuity in operational philosophy, but also evidences that Apple needs to reinforce its internal structures while still looking for its course in the AI ​​era.

In detail. Williams’s departure completely redefines Apple’s succession map. For years he had been seen as The natural heir of cookespecially after its crucial role in the launch of the Apple Watch and the supervision of the design team from the march of Jony Ive In 2019. Now, analysts They point To three names: John Ternus (hardware engineering), Craig Federight (software) and Eddy Cue (services). Federight, in fact, has already assumed the control of Apple’s strategy after the exit of Pang, while the position assumed by the engineer now takes Zhifeng Chen.

An iconic legacy. Williams’ march reminds us of some of his brightest moments of his career. It was the one who resolved one of the biggest challenges of the Original iPhone: When Steve Jobs decided to change the glass plastic screen just months before launch in 2007, Williams coordinated with Corning the development of the revolutionary Gorilla Glass. He also led the first major post-Jobs project, the Apple Watch, demonstrating its ability to materialize the company’s vision and philosophy in successful products.

With Williams outside, Apple continues in another crisis: the AI. It is speculated that Meta has offered Pang an offer valued in several tens of millions of dollars annually, but it is not an isolated case. Zuckerberg is systematically signing The best talents of AIincluding researchers from Openai and Anthropic. According to points Mark Gurman in Bloomberg, in Apple, the founding models team crosses a moral crisis after the new direction explores use external openai or anthropic models for Siri’s new versionthus questioning the internal work developed for years.

And now what. With Williams outside the succession game and the unresolved AI crisis, Cook must manage a complex transition. The company needs to stabilize its artificial intelligence strategy while preparing the generational relief in the dome. Khan’s appointment seeks to give operational continuity, but the questions about Apple’s future leadership and his ability to compete in AI is unanswered. Although Cook has not given a specific date on his withdrawal, in several statements He has assured that will retire, but “not in the conventional way”, preferring to stay active while feeling mentally stimulated. Cook too has expressed Your desire for your replacement to come from within the company.

Cover image | Apple and Guillaume Bleyer

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