Apple's App Store and events chief, Phil Schiller, has reportedly stepped down from his leadership role, according to a Bloomberg report, as the company undergoes a significant leadership transition following Tim Cook's departure as CEO. Schiller, who has been with Apple since 1987 (aside from a four-year break) and took charge of the App Store in 2015, will transition to an Apple Fellow role — a senior position reserved for individuals who have made outstanding technical or leadership contributions to the company. In this new capacity, he will continue working on unspecified projects, though insiders reportedly view the move as a step toward retirement.
Succession and Reorganization
Apple has not formally confirmed the transition, but it is suggested that Carson Oliver, who has spent over 14 years at Apple and his entire career in the App Store division, will take over day-to-day operations of the App Store. Additionally, the App Store is being moved from the marketing department to the services division, led by Eddy Cue, which oversees Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, and other services.
Broader Leadership Changes
Schiller's exit follows a series of high-profile departures at Apple. The company recently lost its chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, who retired in December after 27 years. Lisa Jackson, vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, also announced her retirement in December, as did general counsel Kate Adams. Jennifer Bailey, longtime head of Apple Pay, is expected to retire in October after over 20 years. In June, Paul Meade, the vice president in charge of the Vision Pro headset, left to join OpenAI; since then, Apple has downsized the Vision Pro team, which lost around 100 employees as of two weeks ago.
Legal Context
Schiller had shepherded Apple through an ongoing antitrust lawsuit with Epic Games over the App Store's in-app fee system. Epic filed the suit in 2020, claiming Apple had created an illegal monopoly. The monopoly claims were dismissed, and the judge largely ruled in Apple's favor, though Apple was ordered to allow developers to link to external payment options. The legal fight is ongoing.