Apple has revealed that Jeff Williams will be resigning from his position as chief operating officer later this month. Sabih Khan, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations, is set to take on the COO role as part of what Apple refers to as a “long-planned succession.”
Williams became part of Apple in 1998 as the head of Worldwide Procurement and ascended to COO in 2015. Before joining Apple, he spent thirteen years at IBM in various operations and engineering positions. In his present capacity at Apple, he manages the company’s complete worldwide operations, in addition to customer service and support. He also directs Apple’s design team, along with software and hardware engineering for Apple Watch and Apple’s extensive health initiatives.
In a press announcement regarding the news, Apple mentioned that Williams will officially retire “late in the year.” During this period, he will “continue reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook and supervising Apple’s world-class design team and Apple Watch alongside the company’s Health initiatives.” When Williams officially retires later this year, Apple indicates that the design team will shift to directly reporting to Tim Cook.
Tim Cook conveyed his appreciation for Williams’ contributions, stating, “Jeff and I have worked alongside each other for as long as I can remember, and Apple wouldn’t be what it is without him. He’s helped to create one of the most respected global supply chains in the world; launched Apple Watch and overseen its development; architected Apple’s health strategy; and led our world-class team of designers with great wisdom, heart, and dedication.”
Williams reminisced about his time at Apple, saying, “I have a deep love for Apple. Working with all of the amazing people at this company has been a privilege of a lifetime… I have tremendous confidence in Apple’s future under [Sabih’s] leadership in this role.”
Sabih Khan has been with Apple for 30 years and was elevated to Apple’s senior vice president of Operations in 2019. He oversees Apple’s global supply chain, ensuring product quality and managing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and product fulfillment functions, along with Apple’s supplier responsibility programs.
Tim Cook commended Khan, stating, “Sabih is a brilliant strategist who has been one of the central architects of Apple’s supply chain… He has advanced our ambitious efforts in environmental sustainability, helping reduce Apple’s carbon footprint by more than 60 percent.”
This transition signifies an important moment for Apple as it gears up for the future under new leadership in its operations.
