Apple’s Chief People Officer will depart the company soon after serving for a measly 20 months, according to a new report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
Carol Surface joined Apple as the company’s first-ever Chief People Officer in February 2023, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Surface was an unusual hire as she joined Apple from Medtronic, a medical devices company, rather than being an internal hire for the senior role. Per the Apple Leadership webpage, Surface was responsible for the People team, including talent development and recruitment.
Surface’s responsibilities will now be handed over to Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail. O’Brien was already responsible for the People team before the recruitment of Surface, with the team’s management duties now returning to her alongside Apple’s retail efforts.
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The Chief People Officer was created when Surface joined Apple. However, the title is now set to be dissolved as Apple will not name a direct replacement for Surface, with O’Brien keeping her current title as the retail chief.
Surface’s exit is one of the latest high-profile departures from Apple, though in most cases senior executives are retiring instead of being shown the door. Apple’s longtime Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri is set to leave his current role later this year, shifting to lead the Corporate Services team. Dan Riccio, the company’s former hardware engineering chief, and Vision Pro engineering lead, is also set to retire soon.
