Apple has quietly undergone a major restructuring of its management team that has sparked speculation about the future of the world’s third most valuable company — but CEO Tim Cook isn’t going anywhere.
Even as the iPhone maker faces mounting challenges — from AI stumbles to fading product innovation — the 64-year-old chief executive retains firm control of the company founded by Steve Jobs, even as most of his direct reports are nearing retirement age.
And with longtime lieutenant Jeff Williams set to retire later this year, Cook’s leadership appears more entrenched than ever, according to Bloomberg News.
Williams, Cook’s most trusted deputy, will exit in December. Sabih Khan, Apple’s senior vice president of operations, who is in his late 50s, is slated to assume the COO title.
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri has been succeeded by Kevan Parekh, and longtime product executive Dan Riccio departed at the end of last year.
The company is seeing its biggest management shake-up in decades.
Nearly half of Cook’s approximately 20 direct reports are in their 60s and nearing retirement, including senior figures like marketing chief Greg Joswiak, App Store head Phil Schiller, environment executive Lisa Jackson and chip executive Johny Srouji.
Cook, meanwhile, who turns 65 in November, has shown no signs of stepping down or preparing a successor.
The departure of Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer and widely seen as Cook’s natural heir, leaves the company without a clear backup plan, Bloomberg News reported.
It also reinforces Cook’s position as the indispensable figure guiding Apple through turbulent times.
Williams was uniquely positioned as both COO and unofficial backup CEO.
Khan, while assuming the title, lacks the breadth of experience and institutional knowledge to immediately step in as chief executive, according to Bloomberg News.
The situation is drawing industrywide comparisons to other long-tenured corporate leaders like Disney’s Bob Iger and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, who have extended their influence well past traditional retirement age.
For Cook, whose tenure as CEO began in 2011, the prospect of remaining at Apple’s helm for another five years is increasingly likely as there is little urgency from Apple’s board to initiate a transition, Bloomberg News reported.
The directors — longtime allies including Arthur Levinson, Susan Wagner and Ronald Sugar — have largely deferred to Cook, who has delivered a staggering 1,500% increase in Apple’s stock price since succeeding Steve Jobs.
Though shares are down 16% in 2025, Cook remains the board’s trusted operator during a period of technological and cultural flux.
Under his watch, Apple expanded into China, launched successful new product lines like the Apple Watch and AirPods and transitioned into a subscription-driven business.
These achievements, however, are being challenged by Apple’s growing design stagnation, lagging AI performance and mounting criticism from developers and regulators.
While rivals like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI rolled out advanced AI capabilities early, Apple is seen as trailing far behind.
Its flagship initiative, “Apple Intelligence,” launched significantly later than competing products and still lacks several features that were promised during its 2024 debut.
Still, there is no indication that the board is losing confidence, according to Bloomberg News.
Inside Apple, Services head Eddy Cue has reportedly warned that the company risks becoming “the next BlackBerry or Nokia” if it fails to pivot quickly.
Those concerns, coupled with the AI backlash, have prompted a reorganization of the org chart and the beginnings of a strategic reset.
In order to right the ship, some have floated acquiring a top-tier AI startup and grooming its CEO for the top job. But insiders dismiss that possibility outright.
Apple has reportedly explored acquisitions of companies like Perplexity and is considering Mistral, highlighting its increasing urgency in the AI arms race. The recent loss of Ruoming Pang, Apple’s foundation models chief, to Meta in a deal reportedly worth more than $200 million, only underscores the stakes.
Despite the leadership uncertainty, Apple has a slate of new products on the way, including updated iPhones, iPads and a refreshed Vision Pro headset. But the changes are largely incremental — spec bumps rather than groundbreaking innovation, according to Bloomberg News.
In the absence of revolutionary hardware or AI breakthroughs, the question of Cook’s eventual exit– and what comes after — continues to loom over Cupertino.
For now, however, the CEO remains firmly in charge. And with no clear successor in place, the company’s future is still very much Cook’s to shape.
The Post has sought comment from Apple.
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