Item — HN Reader

There's more than just 4 execs and imo an unprecedented level of turnover for a historically very stable company. It’s multiple senior leaders across legal, policy, AI, design, hardware, and operations leaving within a short period, making it one of Apple’s most significant leadership shakeups in years, which is why several outlets are finding it newsworthy.

1) John Giannandrea, Senior VP of Machine Learning & AI Strategy, Apple’s AI chief is leaving in 2026 after setbacks with Siri, his entire team is being reorganized and cut.

2) Alan Dye, VP of Design and responsible for liquid glass left for Meta Bloomberg

3) Kate Adams, the top lawyer and general counsel is leaving

4) Lisa Jackson, VP of Policy & Social Initiatives also leaving

5) Johny Srouji, hardware/chip head, said he is "seriously considering leaving" which is really interesting seeing as he actually said that out loud for press to report on.

6) Jeff Williams, COO retired

7) Luca Maestri the CFO left ealier this year

8) Ruoming Pang the AI foundation leader left for Meta

9) Ke Yang, head of Siri search also left for Meta.

A lot of other AI engineers have also left.

2 comments

1, 8 and 9 leaving is expected. They failed at their jobs.

3 and 4 literally don't matter.

5, 6 and 7 probably left / are going to leave because they got news they wouldn't get the CEO role once Cook retires.

2 is the big surprise that raises the most eyebrows.

Seems it's mostly succession drama with a side of failure @ AI.

Also the rumor I heard from a friend at Apple (hearsay, obviously, and an anecdote to boot) was that Alan Dye was pretty unpopular among designers.

Yeah, I'd definitely classify Dye in the "failed at their jobs" category alongside 1, 8, and 9.

Bad AI is a venial sin at Apple, but bad design is mortal. Or at least, it used to be.

i wonder if Dye is the self-important personality who parked his audi r8 in handicapped parking routinely in front of IL1.

if not Dye, then apologies to Dye for looking like that person.

also, there's this.

https://9to5mac.com/2025/12/04/gruber-apple-employees-giddy-...

And users too!

It's worth reading Gruber's writeup on Dye's departure - it really sounds like it will be a net positive for Apple that he's leaving: https://daringfireball.net/2025/12/bad_dye_job

I was reading and 2 (Srouji) is 61 years old. While that is not too old, but that does explain why he may not be choice for next CEO (besides any other things). You want someone to helm the ship for a decade.

And 7 left January 1st, so I don’t know if I would include them in talks of an exodus.

> 1, 8 and 9 leaving is expected. They failed at their jobs.

Siri search is pretty good. (You mostly see it as the autocomplete in the Safari address bar.)

Apple is (for a very long time) essentially a hardware company so all the contrived drama about not embracing AI is perhaps Apple style accumulation of data as it refines the sequence of "neural cores" to efficiently serve wherever the industry is careening.

While Apple wants its hardware to best run popular apps (AI included), it's premature to presume these people leaving for Meta (Dye in particular) have any impact other than tribal knowledge in their departures.

(disclaimer: was an engineer in an inner sanctum of apple for several years)