Apple Design Chief Evans Hankey leaving after three years

Apple’s head of hardware design, Evans Hankey, is leaving the tech giant maker three years after taking the job, although she’ll stay on board for at least another six months, reports Bloomberg.

Hankey was named to the post in 2019 to replace Jony Ive, the company’s iconic design chief for two decades. Before taking her current role as vice president of industrial design, Hankey spent several years at Apple reporting to Ive.

“Apple’s design team brings together expert creatives from around the world and across many disciplines to imagine products that are undeniably Apple,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement shared with Bloomberg. “The senior design team has strong leaders with decades of experience. Evans plans to stay on as we work through the transition, and we’d like to thank her for her leadership and contributions.”

No replacement has been announced nor have the reasons for her departure. Hankey and Alan Dye, vice president of human interface design Alan Dye have reported directly to Apple COO Jeff Williams since Ive’s departure. Bloomberg says Dye will remain with the company and noting that Gary Butcher, a former top designer in the human interface division, is returning to the company after a stint at Airbnb.

Butcher has been vice president of design at Airbnb since June 2021, but spent the previous almost 16 years working for Apple. Butcher’s time at Apple comprised around He served for eight years as creator director-video and prior to that eight yeas as a designer.