Apple C-Suite Executive Team [2026]: Roles, Hierarchy & Leadership

Apple’s executive leadership structure is entering a defining new phase in 2026. With John Ternus now serving as Chief Executive Officer and Tim Cook moving to Executive Chair, Apple is balancing leadership succession with continuity across the functions that have long shaped its competitive advantage. Rather than organizing around largely independent product divisions, Apple continues to rely on a tightly integrated functional model spanning hardware, software, artificial intelligence, operations, services, finance, design, retail, marketing, legal affairs, and global markets. That structure places significant emphasis on specialist expertise, institutional knowledge, and coordination across the company’s ecosystem.

Since 2015, more than 4 million learners worldwide have trusted DigitalDefynd to discover high-quality learning resources and understand the leadership models shaping major global organizations. In this updated analysis, we examine Apple’s 2026 executive team, including its principal C-suite leaders, senior vice presidents, vice presidents, and formally disclosed corporate officers. The discussion focuses on who holds responsibility for Apple’s most important strategic functions, how the leadership hierarchy fits together, where decision-making authority sits, and how Apple’s functional leadership model differs from a more traditional corporate C-suite.

Apple Leadership Hierarchy at a Glance

Related: Who Makes up the C-suite Team of Google

Apple C-Suite Executive Team [2026]: Roles, Hierarchy & Leadership

1. Tim Cook – Executive Chairman & Former CEO

Tim Cook has served as Apple’s CEO since August 2011 and remains a member of its board of directors. His tenure has combined operational discipline with sustained expansion across hardware, services, wearables, health, privacy, and environmental initiatives. Before becoming CEO, Cook served as Apple’s chief operating officer, overseeing worldwide sales, supply-chain management, service, support, and reseller relationships. That operating background has influenced Apple’s ability to coordinate product development, manufacturing, retail, and global distribution at extraordinary scale.

Apple has announced that Cook will conclude his CEO tenure on August 31, 2026, and become Executive Chairman the following day. In that position, he will continue supporting selected company priorities, including engagement with policymakers worldwide. John Ternus will succeed him as CEO.

2. John Ternus – CEO-Designate and Senior Vice President, Hardware Engineering

John Ternus is Apple’s CEO-designate and is scheduled to become Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2026. He will also join Apple’s board of directors on that date. Ternus joined Apple’s product design organization in 2001, became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013, and entered the executive team as senior vice president in 2021.

During his hardware leadership career, Ternus has overseen engineering work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro. He has contributed to new product categories, product durability, materials innovation, repairability, and Apple’s transition of the Mac to Apple silicon. As CEO, he will inherit responsibility for Apple’s overall strategy and execution, while Johny Srouji leads the consolidated hardware organization.

Related: Who Makes up the C-suite Team of Tesla

3. Sabih Khan – Chief Operating Officer

Sabih Khan is Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, having succeeded Jeff Williams through a planned leadership transition in 2025. He reports to Tim Cook and oversees worldwide operations, including planning, procurement, manufacturing, quality, logistics, product fulfillment, and the supplier-development programs supporting workers across Apple’s global supply chain.

Khan’s portfolio also includes AppleCare, environmental and social initiatives, accessibility, and AI data operations. He joined Apple in 1995 and has been closely involved in bringing successive generations of Apple products to market. His expanded remit makes him central to manufacturing resilience, supplier standards, customer support, environmental performance, and the operational infrastructure required to support Apple’s artificial-intelligence initiatives.

4. Kevan Parekh – Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Kevan Parekh became Apple’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on January 1, 2025, succeeding Luca Maestri. He oversees accounting, business support, financial planning and analysis, treasury, investor relations, internal audit, and tax. His responsibilities place him at the center of capital allocation, financial controls, business planning, product-development economics, and communication with investors.

Parekh joined Apple in 2013 and previously served as vice president of Financial Planning and Analysis and vice president of Worldwide Finance. During those assignments, he supported functions including engineering, marketing, retail, sales, and Apple’s former iTunes organization. Before Apple, he held leadership positions with Thomson Reuters and General Motors, including assignments in Europe and Asia.

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5. Jennifer Newstead – Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Jennifer Newstead became Apple’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel on March 1, 2026, following a transition of responsibilities from Katherine Adams. She oversees legal matters across corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation, securities compliance, privacy, and global security. Her position is particularly important as Apple navigates regulatory scrutiny, platform competition, privacy requirements, intellectual-property disputes, and differing legal regimes across international markets.

Newstead joined Apple after serving for six years as Meta’s chief legal officer. Her earlier career included serving as legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State, working in the Department of Justice and White House, and practicing as a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Her combination of corporate, regulatory, and international experience supports Apple’s increasingly complex legal and public-policy environment.

6. Katherine Adams – Senior Vice President, Government Affairs

Katherine “Kate” Adams now serves as Apple’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs after transitioning out of the General Counsel position. She leads Apple’s engagement with legislators, government officials, and policymakers on issues affecting the company and its users. Her work spans matters such as privacy, competition, security, trade, taxation, digital markets, and technology regulation.

Adams joined Apple in 2017 after serving as Honeywell’s senior vice president and general counsel. She previously worked at Sidley Austin, the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Apple has stated that Adams is expected to retire later in 2026, after which responsibility for Government Affairs is scheduled to move to Jennifer Newstead.

Related: How to Break into the C-Suite

7. Deirdre O’Brien – Senior Vice President, Retail + People

Deirdre O’Brien leads Apple’s retail and online-store organizations as well as its global People team. Her retail responsibilities center on building educational, supportive, and engaging customer experiences across Apple’s physical stores and digital commerce channels. She has also participated in Apple product launches throughout her long tenure with the company.

Within the People organization, O’Brien oversees functions including Apple University, talent management, recruitment, employee relations, business partnerships, inclusion and diversity, compensation, benefits, and people-support technology. She resumed direct leadership of Apple’s People organization after former Chief People Officer Carol Surface departed, eliminating the need for a separate Chief People Officer entry in the current table.

8. Craig Federighi – Senior Vice President, Software Engineering

Craig Federighi leads the development of Apple’s software platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS. His teams build the interfaces, applications, frameworks, privacy protections, and security systems that connect Apple’s hardware and services into a unified user experience.

Federighi’s responsibilities have expanded to include Apple’s core artificial-intelligence work, encompassing foundation models, applied AI technologies, Apple Intelligence, and the development of Siri. This places him at the center of Apple’s effort to integrate generative and contextual intelligence across its platforms without abandoning its emphasis on privacy and on-device processing. Federighi returned to Apple in 2009 after earlier working at NeXT, Apple, and Ariba.

9. Amar Subramanya – Vice President, AI

Amar Subramanya serves as Apple’s Vice President of AI and reports to Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering. He leads several of Apple’s most important artificial-intelligence organizations, including Apple Foundation Models, machine-learning research, and AI Safety and Evaluation. His responsibilities place him at the center of Apple’s work to develop capable, reliable, privacy-conscious AI technologies that can be integrated across its products, platforms, and services.

Subramanya joined Apple in December 2025 after serving as Corporate Vice President of AI at Microsoft. Before that, he spent 16 years at Google, where his roles included leading engineering for Google’s Gemini Assistant. His experience in both advanced AI research and the translation of machine-learning systems into consumer products strengthens Apple’s efforts to expand Apple Intelligence, improve intelligent system experiences, and develop the next generation of AI-powered features.

10. Johny Srouji – Chief Hardware Officer

Johny Srouji was appointed Apple’s Chief Hardware Officer effective April 20, 2026. His expanded remit combines the Hardware Engineering organization previously overseen by John Ternus with Apple’s Hardware Technologies organization. This makes him responsible for both the engineering of Apple’s finished hardware products and the foundational technologies that power them.

Srouji has led breakthroughs involving Apple silicon, batteries, cameras, storage controllers, sensors, displays, and cellular modems. He joined Apple in 2008 to lead development of the A4, its first internally designed system-on-a-chip. His organization now plays a decisive role in product design, system engineering, performance, reliability, durability, energy efficiency, and the deep integration of hardware and software across Apple’s portfolio.

11. Eddy Cue – Senior Vice President, Services and Health

Eddy Cue’s title and responsibilities have expanded to Senior Vice President, Services and Health. He oversees Apple Music, Apple News, Apple Podcasts, the Apple TV app, Apple TV, Apple Pay, Apple Card, Maps, Apple Ads, iCloud, and Apple’s productivity and creativity applications. His teams support both Apple’s recurring-revenue strategy and the creators, developers, financial partners, and media organizations participating in its services ecosystem.

Cue also leads Apple’s health and fitness organizations. In this capacity, he oversees initiatives connecting Apple devices, software, consumer health features, and medical research. A company veteran since 1989, he helped create the Apple Online Store, iTunes Store, and App Store and has played a central role in building Apple’s business beyond device sales.

12. Greg “Joz” Joswiak – Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing

Greg “Joz” Joswiak leads Apple’s Worldwide Marketing organization. He is responsible for product positioning and marketing across the company’s hardware, software, and services portfolio, working closely with design, engineering, communications, sales, retail, and developer-facing teams.

Joswiak joined Apple in 1986 and has participated in the development and launch of products ranging from early Macintosh computers to the original iPod and iPhone. Before becoming senior vice president, he led Apple Product Marketing and managed product-marketing and product-management teams across the company’s lineup. His long product history and technical background make him an important link between Apple’s engineering work and the way new products are presented to customers.

13. Luca Maestri – Vice President, Corporate Services

Luca Maestri now serves as Apple’s Vice President of Corporate Services following his transition from the Chief Financial Officer position. His current responsibilities include information systems and technology, information security, real estate and development, Caffè Macs, and Claris.

Maestri served as Apple’s CFO for approximately a decade, overseeing accounting, financial planning and analysis, treasury, investor relations, internal audit, tax, business support, and elements of corporate real estate. His continuing role allows Apple to retain his institutional and operating knowledge while Kevan Parekh leads the finance organization. Before Apple, Maestri held senior finance positions at Xerox, Nokia Siemens Networks, and General Motors.

14. Molly Anderson – Vice President, Industrial Design

Molly Anderson leads Apple’s Industrial Design organization. Her teams are responsible for the physical design of Apple products, accessories, and packaging. The organization brings together industrial and color designers, three-dimensional sculptors, prototyping specialists, and experts in materials, fabrication, and human factors.

Anderson joined Apple in 2014 and has contributed to the design of numerous products across its portfolio. Her elevation to Apple’s official executive roster demonstrates the continuing strategic importance of industrial design to the company’s product-development model. Before joining Apple, she worked with Nokia, Barber Osgerby, and Map Project Office and studied industrial and product design in the United Kingdom.

15. Mike Fenger – Vice President, Worldwide Sales

Mike Fenger leads Apple’s worldwide product-sales organization. His teams connect Apple’s products with consumers and organizations through telecommunications partners, electronics resellers, enterprise relationships, education customers, and government institutions. He has also played a significant role in expanding Apple’s global distribution network.

Fenger joined Apple in 2008 as vice president of Global iPhone Sales and helped extend iPhone availability across international markets. Before Apple, he held senior roles with General Electric and Motorola across sales, marketing, operations, and supply-chain management in the Americas, Europe, and Greater China. His inclusion fills an important gap in the previous article, which did not identify Apple’s worldwide sales leader.

16. Steve Lemay – Vice President, Human Interface Design

Steve Lemay is Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Design, succeeding Alan Dye in the position. He leads the teams responsible for the user experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Siri, Apple Vision Pro, and other elements of Apple’s ecosystem.

Lemay joined Apple in 1999 and has contributed to interface design across every major Apple platform. His work influences navigation, interaction models, visual systems, accessibility, motion, information hierarchy, and the consistency of experiences across devices. He is named on hundreds of Apple patents and brings extensive institutional knowledge to a role that connects software engineering, industrial design, product development, and customer experience.

17. Isabel Ge Mahe – Vice President and Managing Director of Greater China

Isabel Ge Mahe leads and coordinates Apple’s teams and activities across Greater China. She reports to the CEO and COO and supports the company’s strategy in a market that remains significant for customers, developers, supply-chain relationships, retail operations, and government engagement.

Ge Mahe joined Apple in 2008 as vice president of Wireless Technologies, overseeing work involving cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, location, and motion technologies. She also contributed to China-specific product capabilities for iPhone and iPad. Her technical experience and regional leadership help Apple align product development, market requirements, business relationships, and local customer expectations.

18. Tor Myhren – Vice President, Marketing Communications

Tor Myhren leads Apple’s Marketing Communications organization. His teams manage advertising, the company’s digital and internet presence, package design, and other consumer-facing marketing activities. The role helps translate Apple’s product capabilities and values into campaigns that are consistent across markets and media channels.

Myhren joined Apple in 2016 after serving as president and worldwide chief creative officer at Grey. His background spans advertising, journalism, filmmaking, and brand storytelling. At Apple, he works closely with product marketing, communications, retail, design, and executive leadership to shape how products and company initiatives are presented to global audiences.

19. Adrian Perica – Vice President, Corporate Development

Adrian Perica leads Apple’s mergers, acquisitions, and strategic-investment activities. He evaluates opportunities that can bring new technologies, talent, infrastructure, services, and capabilities into Apple’s ecosystem and oversees their integration across hardware, software, and services.

Perica joined Apple in 2009. In addition to corporate development, he has assumed business leadership for selected services, including iCloud and infrastructure. Before Apple, he worked at Goldman Sachs and Deloitte Consulting and served as an officer in the U.S. Army. His combination of financial, strategic, and operating experience supports Apple’s selective approach to acquisitions and long-term investment.

20. Kristin Huguet Quayle – Vice President, Worldwide Communications

Kristin Huguet Quayle leads Apple’s worldwide communications strategy, including its global public-relations organization and employee communications. Her teams help explain Apple’s products, values, corporate initiatives, executive decisions, and responses to significant public issues.

Huguet Quayle joined Apple’s Communications organization in 2005 and spent several years leading Corporate Public Relations before assuming her current position. Her work spans product announcements, corporate reputation, internal communication, environmental and social initiatives, public-policy matters, and communication during periods of organizational change. Before Apple, she worked at Sun Microsystems and Burson-Marsteller.

21. Phil Schiller – Apple Fellow

Phil Schiller serves as an Apple Fellow and remains responsible for leading the App Store and Apple Events. His responsibilities connect him to two strategically important areas: the global software-distribution platform serving customers and developers, and the major events through which Apple presents products, platforms, and strategic developments.

Schiller has helped guide Apple’s products and marketing for approximately three decades. He previously served as senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing and contributed to the development and commercialization of the Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, App Store, and iPad. His continuing presence provides Apple with extensive product, platform, developer, and marketing experience.

22. Ben Borders – Principal Accounting Officer

Ben Borders became Apple’s Principal Accounting Officer effective January 1, 2026, succeeding Chris Kondo. The position carries responsibility for principal accounting oversight and supports the integrity of Apple’s financial reporting, accounting policies, regulatory filings, and internal financial controls.

Borders joined Apple in November 2010 and previously served as Director of Technical Accounting. His appointment was approved by Apple’s board and disclosed through a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although he is not displayed on Apple’s public Executive Profiles page, he is a formally appointed corporate officer and is appropriate for inclusion because the existing article covered the Principal Accounting Officer role.

Conclusion

Apple’s updated leadership structure reflects both continuity and generational change. Tim Cook remains CEO through August 2026, while John Ternus prepares to assume overall leadership in September. Sabih Khan now directs worldwide operations, Kevan Parekh leads finance, Jennifer Newstead oversees legal affairs, and Johny Srouji has taken responsibility for Apple’s consolidated hardware organization. The addition of Molly Anderson and Steve Lemay also places Apple’s industrial and interface design leaders directly within its public executive roster.

Across software, AI, services, health, retail, sales, communications, corporate development, and regional operations, this team must preserve the integration that distinguishes Apple while navigating regulatory pressure, supply-chain complexity, changing consumer expectations, and intense competition in artificial intelligence. The company’s future will depend not only on individual products, but on how effectively these leaders align technology, design, operations, capital, and customer experience.

At DigitalDefynd, we continue to profile the executives and leadership systems shaping global enterprises. Professionals preparing for senior-management responsibilities can also explore our curated selection of C-suite and executive leadership programs offered by leading universities and institutions worldwide.