Apple Leadership Shakeup on Tim Cook's Last Day: Phil Schiller Steps Down, Eddy Cue Gets App Store Back

Apple is said to be undergoing yet another major leadership change following Tim Cook's last day as Chief Executive Officer. According to a report, veteran executive Phil Schiller stepping down from his remaining responsibilities overseeing the App Store and Apple's product events. The App Store will reportedly return to the Services division, while Apple's events team is expected to get a new leader.

The shake-up marks a significant change ahead of John Ternus taking charge of the Cupertino-based tech giant beginning today (September 1).

Phil Schiller Steps Down From App Store, Apple Events Roles

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the 66-year-old Phil Schiller has relinquished two of his most prominent remaining responsibilities at Apple — App Store and Events.

Schiller has been one of the most recognisable Apple executives, closely involved with several of Apple's major products, including the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac, and often seen on stage during Apple's September launch event. He also worked alongside Jobs during the creation of the App Store and later became responsible for the platform in 2015.

The executive also served as the Senior Vice President of Worldwide marketing until 2020, following which he moved into the Apple Fellow role.

Following Schiller's decision to step down, the responsibility of the App Store will reportedly transition back to the Services division, led by Eddy Cue, who had overseen the platform until 2015.

Gurman said that daily operations of the App Store will be led by Carson Oliver, a veteran of the team who will report directly to Cue. Schiller had previously divided App Store responsibilities between Oliver and Ann Thai. Under the new structure, Thai is expected to report to Oliver and continue working on tools related to app distribution and third-party marketplaces.

Apple Arcade will also fall under Cue's broader responsibilities, with its leader, Alex Rofman, reporting to Oliver.

Product events, meanwhile, will reportedly be taken over by Nola Weinstein, who has served as Schiller's deputy for the events function since 2023. Gurman said that she report to Kristin Huguet Quayle, who currently serves as the Vice President of Communications and Public Relations at Apple.

The timing of Schiller's change coincides with Tim Cook's last day as Apple CEO, who ended his 15-year tenure at the helm of the company. Taking over from the Apple veteran is John Ternus, who previously served as the Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Apple. Cook, meanwhile, will take office as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at the company.

Gurman added that several veteran Apple executives had either left, stepped down, or moved into less prominent roles recently. These include former operations chief Jeff Williams, former hardware chief Dan Riccio, finance chief Luca Maestri and Lisa Jackson, who previously led Apple's environment and government affairs efforts. Meanwhile, Apple's former general counsel and head of its Pay division are also reportedly preparing to leave.

The change comes just days before Apple's next major product event, scheduled for September 9. Therefore, it is likely to be one of the first major Apple launches under the new leadership structure.