An overblown new report claims that Apple has been carefully orchestrating executive retirements for years to not spook shareholders. There is absolutely nothing to support the premise.
According to Bloomberg, Cook’s retirement is one of very many exits that are being scheduled to avoid the appearance of a mass exodus that Ternus will have to deal with.
This is similar to Bloomberg‘s previous reporting of multiple people quitting Apple and how the company will struggle without them. So the new report is predicting that Apple will soon be unrecognizable, but of the 11 people on Apple’s leadership page, it only actually expects two more to go.
The two said to be focusing on their 401k are retail head Deirdre O’Brien, who is only 60, and chief hardware officer Johny Srouji, 61.
The argument for O’Brien going is just that she’s rumored to want to.
The argument for Srouji leaving is that Bloomberg once reported he had tried to quit for another role. To be generous, that report was unlikely. As well as relying on that report as established fact, the new report is using it to argue a different case.
Bloomberg originally said that Srouji was quitting to join some other company. Now it’s saying this is evidence that actually he wants to retire.
There were others
The report is specifically about who will be leaving Apple soon, and therefore who John Ternus will have to rush to replace. But it actually makes a stronger case for how Cook’s retirement is practically the end of the changes for now.
There is still Jennifer Bailey, head of Apple Pay, who is retiring in October. But her retirement has already been announced.
Otherwise, it’s claimed that since 2024, Tim Cook has been timing the retirements of key figures so that shareholders were never spooked by mass departures. The claim is that this is why long-standing Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri stepped down in October 2024, although Maestri didn’t retire and still hasn’t.
Then Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams did retire, although it was more than a year later in November 2025. Retirement was then announced for both environment head Lisa Jackson and general counsel Kate Adams in December 2025.
Finally, Tim Cook announced in April 2026 that he was stepping down as CEO. Although he also isn’t retiring.
So that’s three people who did retire in the last two years, and a claim that two more will in something like the next few years.
Of the others, it’s presumed that Eddy Cue will be thinking of his succession plan. There is no mention at all of Craig Federighi.
It’s true that there are more Apple executives reaching retirement age now than when Cook became CEO. But the report admits that during Cook’s time, chief designer Jony Ive, hardware head Bob Mansfield, iOS lead Scott Forstall, and not one but two retail chiefs left.
It is also true that Apple is changing and it’s fair to say that the current changes are because of executives reaching retirement age. But the company has always been changing and it has always been replacing key people.
The pace of retirements and departures hasn’t really changed. What has, is the visibility.
Like Tim Cook retiring.
