Apple Inc vice president of industrial design Evans Hankey is leaving the iPhone maker three years after taking the job, creating a significant hole at the top of the company, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Hankey was named to the post in 2019 to replace Jony Ive, the company’s iconic design chief for two decades. Before taking her current role, Hankey spent several years at Apple reporting to Ive. Since then, she has reported to Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams.
The departure was announced inside the Cupertino, California-based technology giant last week, with Hankey telling colleagues that she would remain at Apple for the next six months.
Photo: AFP
The company has not named a replacement for Hankey, who oversees several dozen industrial designers.
Her pending exit marks the first time that Apple would be without a de facto design chief since cofounder Steve Jobs retook control of the company in the late 1990s and appointed Ive to the job.
Richard Howarth, a key designer on Ive’s and Hankey’s teams, briefly held the role of head of industrial design, reporting to Ive, from 2015 to 2017.
Apple on Friday confirmed that Hankey is stepping down.
“Apple’s design team brings together expert creatives from around the world and across many disciplines to imagine products that are undeniably Apple,” a spokesman said in a statement. “The senior design team has strong leaders with decades of experience. Evans plans to stay on as we work through the transition, and we’d like to thank her for her leadership and contributions.”
The elegance of Apple’s products — including the then-revolutionary idea of a mobile phone that was just a screen — helped fuel the company’s comeback under Jobs, and it has continued to be a key differentiator under Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, helping ward off rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co and Amazon.com Inc, and turning Apple into the world’s most valuable business.
The company is on track to approach US$400 billion in sales this year, according to analyst estimates, a new record.
Apple has weathered this year’s tech downturn better than most of its tech peers. Its shares have fallen almost 17 percent this year to date, compared with a 31 percent drop for the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index.
Apple rose 2.7 percent to US$147.27 on Friday.
The void left by Hankey could affect Apple’s future design plans and raises fresh questions about how its products would evolve in the post-Ive era. The company has been working on key new devices, including a mixed-reality headset for next year and augmented reality glasses that would come at a later date. There is also the possibility of an electric vehicle some time this decade.
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