Apple Reshuffles Leadership Ahead of COO Jeff Williams Retirement

According to Bloomberg, Apple is restructuring its leadership as Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams prepares to step down, with major changes taking place in the health, fitness, and software divisions. Eddy Cue, Apple's chief services officer, will take over the company's health and fitness operations, while Craig Federighi, the company's chief software officer, will oversee watchOS. The reorganization follows Williams' retirement announcement, which ends his nearly decade-long tenure as COO.

Key Highlights

• Apple announces leadership restructuring as COO Jeff Williams prepares for retirement, with Eddy Cue overseeing health and fitness divisions, and Craig Federighi expanding his role to include watchOS.
• The reorganization aims to streamline operations and support the upcoming launch of Health+, Apple's AI-powered subscription service.

Health and fitness teams have merged under a new leadership structure

Sumbul Desai will lead the health and fitness groups, which were previously managed separately by Jay Blahnik and Desai. Cue will be her direct supervisor. This restructuring occurs as Apple prepares to launch Health+, a new AI-powered subscription service scheduled for 2026 that will provide personalized wellness recommendations.

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Craig Fedrighi and John Ternus will work on Apple Watch

Federighi, who is known for his charismatic product presentations, is expanding his role for the second time this year. He now oversees watchOS, Siri, and visionOS, the operating system for Apple's Vision Pro headset.

Hardware chief John Ternus takes full control of Apple Watch engineering, a product Williams helped launch a decade ago. According to Bloomberg, Ternus, 50, is widely regarded as a potential successor to CEO Tim Cook, who will turn 65 next year.

The changes come as Apple works to turn its wellness initiatives into a significant revenue stream. Fitness+, a subscription service with video workouts, was launched in 2020. The upcoming Health+ service will use artificial intelligence to provide comprehensive health management tools that address nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

Additional executive changes loom at Apple, with the company looking for replacements for AI chief John Giannandrea, while environment chief Lisa Jackson and chip division leader Johny Srouji consider their futures at the tech titan.