AI: Apple's 'People Problem' Signals. RTZ #929

Lot of static in the Apple AI Signal of late. In particular. the narrative of Apple’s AI challenges continues to build in this AI Tech Wave. This as companies like Google and Amazon are starting to shake their ‘AI underdog’ narratives in recent weeks.

Continued catalysts of course continue to be Meta’s relentless AI Talent recruitment drives this year, which took a number of top AI people from Apple. All led top down by founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Followed by last week’s poaching of Apple’s Chief of Human Interface Design Alan Dye, and his lieutenant I wrote about.

And the replacement of Apple’s long-time AI chief John Giannandrea ‘JG’ with another senior executive from Google.

All of this has of course added to the perception of Apple’s ‘People Problems’ for CEO Tim Cook, as well as uncertainties of his tenure as well given his turning 65. And now there are worries of Apple potentially losing the head of its semiconductor ‘Apple Silicon’ business. An area I highlighted has been critical to Apple’s ecosystem successes over the last few years. And in my view Apple’s AI opportunities ahead.

This narrative got a grand summary by Bloomberg in “Apple Rocked by Executive Departures, With Chip Chief at Risk of Leaving Next”:

• “Apple is undergoing its biggest personnel shake-up in decades, with senior executives and key engineers leaving the company.”

• “The exits include the heads of artificial intelligence and interface design, as well as the general counsel and head of governmental affairs, with more changes likely coming.”

• “The departures are causing concern within the company, with some employees expressing surprise and others worrying about a brain drain, particularly in the area of artificial intelligence.”

“Apple Inc., long the model of stability in Silicon Valley, is suddenly undergoing its biggest personnel shake-up in decades, with senior executives and key engineers both hitting the exits.”

“In just the past week, Apple’s heads of artificial intelligence and interface design stepped down. Then the company announced that its general counsel and head of governmental affairs were leaving as well. All four executives have reported directly to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, marking an exceptional level of turnover in Apple’s C-suite.”

“And more changes are likely coming. Johny Srouji — senior vice president of hardware technologies and one of Apple’s most respected executives — recently told Cook that he is seriously considering leaving in the near future, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Srouji, the architect of Apple’s prized in-house chips effort, has informed colleagues that he intends to join another company if he ultimately departs.”

This has led to speculation on Tim Cook’s tenure as well:

“The flurry of retirements reflects a demographic reality for Apple. Many of its most senior executives have been at the company for decades and are roughly the same age — either in their 60s or nearing it.”

“Cook turned 65 last month, fueling speculation that he would join the exodus. People close to the executive have said that he’s unlikely to leave soon, though succession planning has been underway for years. John Ternus, Apple’s 50-year-old hardware engineering chief, is considered by employees to be the frontrunner CEO candidate.”

“When Cook does step down, he’s likely to shift into the chairman job and maintain a high level of influence over the iPhone maker. That makes it unlikely that Apple will select an outsider as the next CEO, even as executives like Nest Labs founder Tony Fadell are being pushed as candidates by people outside the company. Though Fadell helped invent Apple’s iconic iPod, he left the tech giant 15 years ago on less-than-friendly terms.”

“For now, Cook remains active at Apple and travels extensively on behalf of the company. However, the executive does have an unexplained tremor that causes his hands to shake from time to time — something that’s been discussed among Apple employees in recent months.”

And the latest developments around its head of ‘Apple Silicon’:

“A more imminent risk is the departure of Srouji, the chip chief. Cook has been working aggressively to retain him — an effort that included offering a substantial pay package and the potential of more responsibility down the road. One scenario floated internally by some executives involves elevating him into the role of chief technology officer. Such a job — overseeing a wide swath of both hardware engineering and silicon technologies — would potentially make him Apple’s second-most-powerful executive.”

“But that change would likely require Ternus to be promoted to CEO, a step the company may not be ready to take. And some within Apple have said that Srouji would prefer not to work under a different CEO, even with an expanded title.”

“If Srouji does depart, which isn’t yet a certainty, the company would likely tap one of his two top lieutenants — Zongjian Chen or Sribalan Santhanam — to replace him.”

And the piece points to others at Apple who could take over many of the other senior roles:

“The recent shifts are already reshaping Apple’s power structure. More authority is now flowing to a quartet of executives: Ternus, services chief Eddy Cue, software head Craig Federighi and new COO Sabih Khan. Apple’s AI efforts have been redistributed across its leadership, with Federighi becoming the company’s de facto AI chief.”

“Ternus is also poised to take a starring role next year in the celebration of Apple’s 50th anniversary, further raising his profile. And he’s been given more responsibility over robotics and smart glasses — two areas seen as future growth drivers.”

Besides Meta, OpenAI has been the other company focused on Apple People:

“Ive, a visionary designer who helped create the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, is now working with OpenAI to develop a new generation of AI-enhanced devices. That company acquired Ive’s startup, io, for more than $6 billion to jump-start its hardware business — setting its sights on Apple’s territory.”

“Like Meta, OpenAI has become a key beneficiary of Apple’s talent flight. The San Francisco-based company has hired dozens of Apple engineers across a wide range of fields, including people working on the iPhone, Mac, camera technology, silicon design, audio, watches and the Vision Pro headset.”

“In a previously unreported development, the AI company is hiring Apple’s Cheng Chen, a senior director in charge of display technologies. His purview included the optics that go into the Vision Pro headset. OpenAI recruited Tang Tan, one of Apple’s top hardware engineering executives, two years ago.”

“There have been other high-profile departures. Abidur Chowdhury, who narrated Apple’s unveiling of the iPhone Air in September, left for an AI startup. He was an up-and-comer at Apple, and the move surprised colleagues.”

The whole piece provides a lot more detail on Apple’s people flows both out and into the company. But my broader view continues to be that going into 2026, Apple is uniquely positioned to take advantage of AI opportunities at scale globally relative to its big tech peers.

For those interested, I had an indepth discussion this week on Apple’s Product and People Portfolio on my podcast AI Ramblings (Episdoe 32), with my Gen-Z nephew and co-host Neal Makwana. Here’s the specific segment, and the full episode below.

It all seems unlikely given these people challenges, but Apple has a broad and deep set of benches across these areas, and of course a unique set of assets and resources o leverage AI opportunities as they become more ‘real’.

This remains an active topic of public debate around Apple for now, but let’s continue to ‘watch this AI Tech Wave space’. Stay tuned.

(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)