Apple COO Jeff Williams is set to retire later this year, and Bloomberg reports that in response to Williams’ departure from Apple, the Cupertino-based tech giant is preparing to expand the roles of some of its top executives.
Apple’s health and fitness teams, managed by Sumbul Desai and Jay Blahnik, respectively, had reported to Williams. But as part of the organizational restructuring and in anticipation of Williams’ departure, these teams will be consolidated under Desai, who will report to Apple’s Services boss Eddy Cue, with Blahnik reporting to Desai.
Cue is already overseeing Apple’s TV+, iCloud, Maps, and other online offerings, and the move to put him in charge of Apple’s health and fitness efforts comes ahead of the planned launch of Apple’s new subscription service called “Health+.” The service will feature an AI-powered assistant, which will allow users to manage their well-being through personalized recommendations on nutrition, sleep, and exercise.
“Placing the health and fitness efforts under Cue underscores the company’s ambition to turn wellness initiatives into a significant business,” stated Bloomberg in its report.
In addition to Apple’s health and fitness teams, Williams also led the company’s hardware and software design teams, managed by Molly Anderson and Alan Dye, respectively. They will report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, will now oversee watchOS.
John Ternus, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, who is also expected to succeed Tim Cook, “will assume sole control of Apple Watch hardware engineering” as Williams had overseen the new versions of Apple’s smartwatch.
