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Where Will Apple's Scott Forstall Likely Land Next?

This article is more than 10 years old.

Yesterday Apple (AAPL) announced that SVP of iOS Software, Scott Forstall, would be stepping down and remain an advisor to CEO Tim Cook between now and next year.

Image via CrunchBase

While the press has mentioned heated tensions between Forstall and others at Apple, as head of iOS software that helped make the iPhone, iPad and iPod such breakout products, one has to speculate as to where Forstall is likely to wind up next.

As the smartphone and tablet wars continue to heat up, there is no shortage of companies that would want to tap Forstall for his insights on iOS and Apple's product roadmap. Keep in mind too that Forstall worked directly with Apple founder and digital visionary Steve Jobs.  That likely means that Forstall has a number of insights had by few in the industry, and that would make him a valuable asset as the smartphone and tablet wars escalate and eventually head toward vendor consolidation.

Here’s a list of some likely contenders that would welcome Scott Forstall once his advisor role to Tim Cook is complete:

Google (GOOG) - The Android operating systems that powers a number of smartphones and tablets is an obvious choice, however, given the bad blood between Apple founder Steve Jobs and Google many would view such a move as a stab in Jobs’s back.  Low probability.

Microsoft (MSFT) - While Microsoft has been viewed as a long-time enemy of Apple, the reality is that its far closer to being a frenemy than an enemy these days. A number of failed attempts to follow Apple - anyone know what a Zune was? - into the digital lifestyle would likely have Microsoft welcome Forstall with open arms. The question to ponder, however, is whether or not Forstall could have an impact given the internal culture at Microsoft and reliance on Windows? After all even Apple is more or less admitting the importance of mobility going forward by unifying iOS and OS X under one umbrella. Medium probability

Nokia (NOK) - The one time market share leader of mobile phones remains in the midst of its turnaround as it focuses on smartphones powered by Microsoft Windows. The need to differentiate itself from others Windows powered device vendors, much the way Amazon.com (AMZN) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) have done with their Android tablets, is critical lest Nokia simply be one of the Windows device herd. Not only would Forstall be able to help Nokia’s smartphones stand out, but his experience in migrating iOS to the iPad would also help Nokia’s tablet efforts as well. In my view, Forstall would be a shoe in for Jo Harlow, current Executive Vice President, Smart Devices at Nokia. Making the deal even more attractive, not too long ago Nokia moved its U.S. headquarters from White Plains, New York to Northern California with locations in Sunnyvale and Berkeley. High probability.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - Also headquartered in Northern California is HP, which has had several missteps in the mobile arena over the last few years. Currently HP and several of its PC competitors, like Dell (DELL), are dealing with a contracting PC market and the secular shift toward smartphones and tablets. CEO Meg Whitman recently shared that the company’s turnaround will take far longer than previously expected. The combination of focusing on computing where Whitman believes HP can gain an edge, such as managing growing volumes of business data and cloud-computing over the Internet, coupled with prospects for 29,000 job cuts by the end of fiscal 2014 likely mean HP will remain a strategic mess long after Forstall’s advisor role concludes. Low probability

HTC Corp. - This time last year, HTC was viewed as one of the company’s to watch in the smartphone race. Today, however, that pictures has quickly changed largely due to plunging profits over the last two quarters. HTC has been the victim of continued success by both Apple and Samsung, plain and simple. What is likely to complicate a Forstall win is HTC’s dual OS strategy of using both Windows Mobile and Android on different smartphone models. As long as HTC embraces this dual strategy, the probability of Forstall moving to HTC is low.

Amazon.com (AMZN), Facebook (FB), Twitter - All possible, but at least with Amazon.com and Facebook, there are fairly strong personalities at the helm of those two companies. Yes, Forstall likely oversaw the Apple teams behind the greater Facebook and Twitter integration with iOS and that makes gives those two prospects a 50-50 probability. Given the nature of Amazon’s business outside of its Kindle and Kindle Fire operations, odds are low that Forstall would join the company. That said, if Amazon were to recruit Forstall to lead a smartphone initiative, then all bets would be off.

Other - Given Forstall’s knowledge of iOS and his likely clout with the venture capital community, it would not be surprising to see him strike out on his own with his own company. After all, when Steve Jobs left Apple he founded NeXT, which was eventually bought by Apple and that paved the way for a more mature Steve to return. Probability high.