Apple is preparing for one of its biggest internal shake-ups in years as Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams prepares to retire before the end of 2025.
The restructuring will see leadership roles reshuffled across its services, hardware, and health divisions.
Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Services, will now oversee Apple’s health and fitness divisions, and this could boost the company’s reported plan to launch a new subscription service, Health+, in 2026.
The upcoming service is expected to provide personalised coaching across fitness, sleep, nutrition, and mental health, revealing Apple’s goal to turn wellness into a profitable, recurring-revenue business, much like Apple Music or iCloud.
Jeff Williams, who once led Apple’s health initiatives and was important in building the Apple Watch into a health-focused product, handed the COO role to Sabih Khan, formerly vice president of Operations, back in July. With Williams’ exit drawing near, Apple is redistributing his remaining responsibilities.
According to Bloomberg, software chief Craig Federighi will take charge of watchOS, while hardware head John Ternus will lead Apple Watch engineering, an appointment that analysts see as a strategic nod to Ternus’s potential as a future successor to CEO Tim Cook, who turns 65 next year.
Again, Jay Blahnik, Apple’s fitness chief, will now report to Sumbul Desai, vice president of Health. This comes when an internal probe into the workplace is being conducted. Both executives previously reported directly to Williams.
The New York Times earlier revealed that Blahnik was sued by a former employee who accused him of enabling a toxic work environment, an allegation that has placed additional issue on Apple’s corporate culture.
Meanwhile, Johnny Srouji, senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, is reportedly “evaluating his future at the tech giant”, months after his team delivered Apple’s first in-house modem, an achievement in the company’s long effort to reduce dependence on Qualcomm.
Sources reveal that Apple’s leadership transition could extend beyond Williams. Other top executives, including Lisa Jackson, who oversees Environment, and John Giannandrea, head of Artificial Intelligence, are rumoured to be considering retirement.
