Apple's new CEO taps retired hardware executive for management team

CEO-designate John Ternus has rehired former hardware engineering vice president Laura Legros as he begins reshaping Apple's leadership ahead of taking charge next month

By Mark Gurman

 

Incoming Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer John Ternus is bringing back a trusted lieutenant from his time running hardware engineering to join his new management team.

 

Ternus has hired Laura Legros, who served as a vice president of hardware engineering until retiring in 2022, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Legros will report to Ternus when he takes the CEO role on Sept. 1, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the personnel change hasn’t been announced.

 

The move shows that Ternus is starting to put his stamp on the company’s leadership ranks. It also marks a rare instance of Apple bringing back a retired executive. Ternus is taking the reins from Tim Cook, the company’s longest-serving CEO, who is transitioning to executive chairman.

 

A spokesperson for the Cupertino, California-based company declined to comment.

 

In the new job, Legros will act as a vice president working cross-functionally with different parts of the company, the people said.

 

During her career at Apple, Legros helped manage product delivery, development schedules and coordination across engineering teams to ensure they remained aligned.

 

Before retiring, she was one of Ternus’ most trusted deputies. In 2018, she appeared during an Apple product launch event to introduce a new version of the MacBook Air. Two years later, she unveiled the current iPad Air design.

 

Over the past several months, Ternus has been shadowing Cook and helping lead executive meetings. The incoming CEO has already met with leaders across the company and participated in road-map reviews for a number of divisions for the coming year.

 

Ternus has also spent considerable time with Apple’s design teams, a process that began late last year. In addition to appointing Legros to his new team, Ternus is looking to shake up Apple’s design organization, Bloomberg News has reported.

 

Ternus will need to make additional leadership changes in the coming months and years. Many of Apple’s top executives are approaching retirement age, and people inside the company expect several more departures over the next few years.

 

Kate Adams, who now oversees government affairs after serving as general counsel, has already said she plans to retire at the end of this year. Her current role will be assumed by new General Counsel Jennifer Newstead. 

 

Luca Maestri, a former chief financial officer who now oversees teams responsible for real estate and information systems, and Phil Schiller, who was head of marketing until 2020 and now runs the App Store, are also approaching the end of their Apple tenures.