Tim Cook Faced an 'Insurrection' Following Announcement of Bob Mansfield's Retirement
Earlier this year, Apple announced that hardware chief Bob Mansfield would be retiring, staying on for several months as iPad hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio transitioned into the broader role overseeing the company's entire hardware effort. But just two months later, Apple announced that Mansfield would be staying on, retaining his senior vice president title but without a specific role other than to "work on future products".
A new report from Bloomberg Businessweek profiling Apple one year after the death of Steve Jobs reveals the backstory behind Mansfield's reversal, noting that Apple CEO Tim Cook found himself facing an "insurrection" from Apple employees following Mansfield's retirement announcement.
According to three people familiar with the sequence of events, several senior engineers on Mansfield’s team vociferously complained to Cook about reporting to his replacement, Dan Riccio, who they felt was unprepared for the magnitude of the role. In response, Cook approached Mansfield and offered him an exorbitant package of cash and stock worth around $2 million a month to stay on at Apple as an adviser and help manage the hardware engineering team.
Officially, Apple's hardware engineering group is now under the oversight of Riccio, so it is unclear exactly how Mansfield and Riccio are working together on their projects. Both executives report directly to Cook, and it is unknown how long Mansfield intends to remain with Apple.
Popular Stories
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, GameCube, Wii,...
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
Apple Vision Pro, Apple's $3,500 spatial computing device, appears to be following a pattern familiar to the AR/VR headset industry – initial enthusiasm giving way to a significant dip in sustained interest and usage. Since its debut in the U.S. in February 2024, excitement for the Apple Vision Pro has noticeably cooled, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On...
It was a big week for retro gaming fans, as iPhone users are starting to reap the rewards of Apple's recent change to allow retro game emulators on the App Store. This week also saw a new iOS 17.5 beta that will support web-based app distribution in the EU, the debut of the first hotels to allow for direct AirPlay streaming to room TVs, a fresh rumor about the impending iPad Air update, and...
Top Rated Comments
2 Million a month!!?? That's a lot of dough to stay on! Dang!!!
:eek::eek::eek::eek:
Mansfield: "If they would have just offerred me 2 weeks more vacation, I would have took it!" ha ha
Dude, Apple is a "publicly traded company". What do you mean it is nobody's business?!
:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: