Apple COO Jeff Williams Retires From Tech Giant

Apple (AAPL) has announced that its longtime Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jeff Williams is retiring after spending 27-years at the consumer electronics giant.

Current operations leader Sabih Khan will take over the COO role later in July of this year, Apple said.

For his remaining time at Apple, Williams will continue to lead the company’s highly regarded design team, Apple Watch, and health initiatives. He will report to Apple CEO Tim Cook until his departure at year’s end.

Williams, age 62, is the latest in a series of longtime senior executives to step down from Apple.

During his career, Williams was one of the most important executives at Apple, running the company’s operations division, which is in charge of manufacturing millions of devices each year, including both the iPhone and iPad.

Williams is also known for being skilled at design and led Apple’s legendary industrial design team after longtime leader Jony Ive departed the company in 2019.

In a written statement, Williams said he plans to spend more time with friends and family in retirement.

In his own statement, CEO Cook said of Williams, “He’s helped to create one of the most respected global supply chains in the world; launched Apple Watch and overseen its development; architected Apple’s health strategy; and led our world class team of designers with great wisdom, heart, and dedication.”

AAPL stock has declined 14% this year to trade at $210.01 U.S. per share.