Apple is making more leadership changes as the John Ternus era gets underway. A new Bloomberg report says Apple has named a new mergers and acquisitions chief and a new vice president of the App Store. According to the report, Apple has named Steve Smith as its new mergers and acquisitions leader.
Smith replaces Adrian Perica, who joined Apple in 2009 and led the M&A and corporate development teams for over a decade. Bloomberg describes Smith as Perica's "longtime lieutenant." He will report to CFO Kevan Parekh. Perica, meanwhile, is taking on a "more prominent position" within Apple's services division.
He has led iCloud, Fitness+, and Apple News since 2023 and will now report directly to services boss Eddy Cue. In fact, Perica, along with Apple Music leader Oliver Schusser, is seen as a potential successor to Cue. Though Perica is relinquishing responsibility for M&A, the move gives him a more prominent position within Cue's organization at a time when the services chief is assessing multiple potential successors.
Many Apple employees familiar with the situation believe Perica and Oliver Schusser, the executive overseeing Apple Music, are the leading candidates to eventually replace Cue. Another possibility under discussion is splitting Cue's responsibilities between the two executives. Additionally, today's Bloomberg says that Apple is promoting Carson Oliver to vice president of the App Store, reporting to Cue.
Apple Fellow Phil Schiller led the App Store until he stepped down in August.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing