SAN FRANCISCO — Apple announced shifts to its executive team on Thursday, naming its first chief operating officer since Tim Cook moved into the chief executive job more than four years ago.
Jeff Williams was named the company’s new COO, formalizing a role some contend he was already handling. Williams joined the company in 1998 and "played a key role in Apple's entry into the mobile phone market with the launch of the iPhone," according to a release.
Since 2010, Williams’ duties have included overseeing Apple's supply chain along with service and support.
"Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I've ever worked with,” Cook said.
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing and a familiar face to any who have tuned into the company's product unveilings, will expand his role to include heading the online App Store. Johny Srouji, the head of Apple's chip business, was named senior vice president for hardware technologies. Cook also announced that Tor Myhren will join Apple early next year as vice president of marketing communications, reporting to Cook.
"We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple's executive team," Cook said.
Cook served as Apple’s COO from 2007 to 2011, and took over as CEO from co-founder Steve Jobs on August 24, 2011, about six weeks before Jobs’ death.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015
