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Apple's management team is increasingly focusing on succession planning - according to a report. There is already a candidate who could take over from Tim Cook and become the new Apple CEO.
Who will succeed Tim Cook? Observers have been asking this question for some time. According to a new Bloomberg report, this question has already been asked internally at Apple. As the new report shows, Tim Cook and his team are increasingly focusing on succession planning. The reason for this is Cook's 10th year as Apple CEO. Apple is striving to prepare the next generation of top managers. Mark Gurman explains in the article:
Tim Cook: Williams – the “obvious heir”?
Entering his 10th year at the company's helm, Cook's leadership group is largely filled with senior vice presidents who have worked at Apple for more than two decades, have generated tens of millions of dollars and are between the ages of 55 and 60 or approaching 60. That, along with typical corporate planning, has spurred the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to cultivate its next class of top executives, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing internal company discussions. Apple declined to comment.
While Cook has shown no signs of being ready to step aside, today's report states that Apple's current Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Williams, is viewed internally as "the obvious heir" to the CEO position. Williams is viewed as "as pragmatic as Cook" and an "operationally oriented" leader, much like Cook. In terms of product marketing, Greg Joswiak has only recently replaced Phil Schiller as Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. Although the whole thing was only recently made official, Schiller has reportedly been gradually handing over responsibilities for several years. As for Joswiak's successor, Apple reportedly has a list of potential candidates, with the current frontrunner being iPhone Marketing Vice President Kaiann Drance. Gurman explains:
Craig Federighi – the youngest member of Apple's executive team
Other potential candidates include Stan Ng and Susan Prescott. Ng, vice president of Apple Watch marketing, has been a mainstay in Apple's marketing organization since the late 1990s. He started with the Mac, then moved to the iPod, then worked on the iPhone before the Apple Watch. Prescott, 55, oversees marketing for apps and enterprise.
However, no changes are planned for the time being in the software engineering department. This means that Craig Federighi will probably stay in his position for a few more years, as he is only 51 years old and thus the youngest in Apple's management team. However, Sébastien Marineau-Mes and Jon Andrews are currently considered potential successors. But the operations department could also be renewed soon. Bloomberg reports that Sabih Khan could probably be replaced by Priya Balasubramaniam.
But the most likely long-term successor is Priya Balasubramaniam, iPhone operations manager. Balasubramaniam has been in her current role since 2014 and joined Apple nearly 20 years ago. She is responsible for the production, supply chain and repair network for Apple's most important product and the components that underlie it.
If you want to read the full report and learn more details about Apple’s succession strategy, you can find the Item in English on Bloomberg. AirPods Pro on special offer at Amazon – available now. (Image: Apple)
