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Apple\u2019s executive shake-up continues. Days after announcing AI chief John Giannandrea\u2019s departure<\/a>, and the loss of design exec Alan Dye to Meta<\/a>, the iPhone maker shared the news of two more exec retirements. <\/p>\n Kate Adams, who has served as Apple\u2019s general counsel since 2017, will retire late next year, while Lisa Jackson, Apple\u2019s vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, will retire in late January 2026.<\/p>\n The company also announced the hiring of Jennifer Newstead, who will become its general counsel on March 1, 2026, reporting to chief executive Tim Cook, after a transition of duties from Adams.<\/p>\n Newstead arrives from Meta, where she was chief legal officer. Before that, she served as the legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State, where she led the team advising the Secretary of State on legal issues affecting the conduct of U.S. foreign relations. <\/p>\n She also held other government positions in the past, including as general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, as a principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, as associate White House counsel, and as a law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court. <\/p>\n Newstead will oversee both the Legal and Government Affairs organizations, noted Cook.<\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more pleased to have Jennifer join our team,\u201d he said. \u201cShe brings an extraordinary depth of experience and skill to the role, and will advance Apple\u2019s important work all over the world.\u201d <\/p>\n During Adams\u2019s time at Apple, the company faced increased antitrust regulation and lawsuits, largely focused on increasing competition in the app market.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jackson, who had previously been appointed to the EPA before joining Apple in 2013, was involved with Apple\u2019s climate initiatives, sustainability efforts, environmental impact, and DEI-focused endeavors, like its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative<\/a>. Such efforts have fallen out of favor at corporate giants under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply appreciative of Lisa\u2019s contributions. She has been instrumental in helping us reduce our global greenhouse emissions by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels,\u201d said Cook, in a statement. \u201cShe has also been a critical strategic partner in engaging governments around the world, advocating for the best interests of our users on a myriad of topics, as well as advancing our values, from education and accessibility to privacy and security.\u201d<\/p>\n Apple has seen a number of changes in leadership in recent months, having also announced the departure of chief operating officer Jeff Williams in July<\/a>, with duties shifting to Sabih Khan, who had previously served as the senior vice president of operations. Before Giannandrea\u2019s exit, Apple had replaced him<\/a> as head of the Siri team with Mike Rockwell, who had been VP of the Vision Products Group.<\/p>\n The company also lost Ke Yang<\/a>, the executive leading Apple\u2019s work on AI-driven web search, to Meta; and it saw the departure of Ruoming Pang, Apple\u2019s former head of AI models, who left for Meta\u00a0earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n The leadership changes as Apple has fallen behind in the AI race, pushing back the launch of an AI-powered Siri, which will now run Google\u2019s models under the hood. Apple has also been criticized by designers for losing its sharp attention to detail that the company has long been known for. This reportedly led to some celebration of Dye\u2019s departure among Apple employees, per a report from Daring Fireball<\/a>, who are glad that a career interface and interaction designer, Stephen Lemay, has taken over the role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n