Apple has upgraded five executives to Vice President status. This includes one returning early iPhone executive, a report from Bloomberg notes.
Paul Meade is the new VP of hardware engineering, Jon Andrews is now VP of software engineering, Gary Geaves is VP of acoustics, and Kaiann Drance is VP of marketing. Apple has also brought back Bob Borchers, who has been named VP of product marketing.
The first four individuals were previously senior directors. The appointments were all made over the past couple of months. As Bloomberg‘s report notes:
“Meade has led hardware development for Apple’s future augmented-reality headset in recent years. Andrews is one of software chief Craig Federighi’s lieutenants, overseeing the underlying architecture of the company’s operating systems. Geaves runs audio technology development for products including AirPods and the HomePod. … Drance has taken on a bigger marketing role in recent years, appearing on stage to announce the iPhone 11 in September.”
Bob Borchers, meanwhile, has returned to Apple after working at Google and Dolby Laboratories. Borchers was previously at Apple for four years in the early 2000s. From August 2004 he was a director of product marketing for the iPod ecosystem. He was promoted to senior director of marketing on the iPhone in 2005. He left Apple in June 2009. In his new role, he will oversee iOS and iCloud, as well as privacy marketing issues.
2019 has seen a number of organizational changes for Apple. Jony Ive, former retail boss Angela Ahrendts and communications head Steve Dowling have all left. In total, Apple has around 100 vice presidents. These VPs report to Tim Cook, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, and assorted senior vice presidents.
