Apple sales executive Doug Beck leaves for role at US Defence Department

By Mark Gurman

Apple Inc. sales executive Doug Beck is leaving the iPhone maker for a senior role at the US Defence Department, extending a wave of key departures at the company.
 

Beck will lead the Defence Innovation Unit, which promotes the use of commercial technology within the military. He also will advise Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on technology strategy, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

For Apple, Beck’s departure marks yet another senior exit. In recent months, the company has lost executives overseeing industrial design, hardware and software engineering, procurement, sales in emerging markets, subscription and cloud services, online retail, and information systems.

“We support Doug’s public service and wish him all the best,” Apple said in a statement. The Defence Department said that the job is a full-time role. 

Beck is one of fewer than 20 executives to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. He managed sales to governments, health institutions and schools, serving as one of the Cupertino, California-based company’s two sales chiefs. The other, Mike Fenger, is in charge of product and enterprise sales globally. Fenger recently reorganized Apple’s international sales teams to put a greater focus on India, Bloomberg News reported last month.

Prior to his latest role at Apple, Beck ran sales in the Americas and parts of Asia. He’s long been connected to the US military and government, serving as a captain in the US Navy Reserve and working with the Defence Innovation Unit from 2015 to 2019. He joined Apple in 2009.