Apple won’t name a replacement for vice president of industrial design Evans Hankey when she departs the company, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. Instead, the tech giant’s product design team will report directly to Chief Operating Office Jeff Williams (pictured).
In October 2022 it was announced that Apple’s head of hardware design, Evans Hankey, is leaving the tech giant maker three years after taking the job after design guru Jony Ive left to start his own firm. She’s expected to stay on board through April.
With the tech giant’s core group of about 20 industrial designers will report to Williams, Apple will also give larger roles to a group of Apple’s longest-tenured designers, according to Gurman.
He notes that these moves align Apple’s operations group more closely with design — “an arrangement that’s irked some of Apple’s creative staffers.” It will also elevate Williams, who is seen as a possible successor to CEO Tim Cook.
About Jeff Williams
Williams oversees Apple’s entire worldwide operations, as well as customer service and support. He leads Apple’s design team and the software and hardware engineering for Apple Watch. Williams also drives the company’s health initiatives.
Williams played a key role in Apple’s entry into the mobile phone market with the launch of the iPhone, and since 2010 has led worldwide operations for all products. He also led the engineering development of Apple Watch. Jeff joined Apple in 1998 as head of Worldwide Procurement.
Prior to Apple, Williams worked for the IBM Corporation from 1985 to 1998 in a number of operations and engineering roles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from Duke University.
