GoKawiilWe learned yesterday that Apple was at risk of losing Mike Rockwell, the exec tasked with rescuing the new Siri project after Tim Cook lost confidence in former AI head John Giannandrea.
A deal appears to have been struck to retain Rockwell long enough to deliver the Siri upgrade, and Ternus and Cook also notched up an even important retention win …
Leadership changes pose retention challenges
Any change in senior leadership at a company potentially exposes the company to the risks of losing other key personnel. A new org chart mean that reporting lines are changed for a whole succession of management tiers, and you can never expect everyone to be happy with the results.
Different execs have different priorities, and may also have radically different management and communication styles that may be a better fit for some and a far worse fit for others. This can easily lead to a number of people potentially seeking to leave the company.
Yesterday’s report said that Rockwell had reservations about reporting to his new boss, Craig Federighi, but is now “unlikely to leave before the Siri upgrade is complete.” It’s unclear what incentives were offered to persuade the AI lead to stay.
Chip lead Johny Srouji was a key win
Arguably even more important was the steps Cook and Ternus took in order to retain chip expert Johny Srouji. It was reported back in December that he was considering leaving the company.
Johny Srouji — senior vice president of hardware technologies and one of Apple’s most respected executives — recently told Cook that he is seriously considering leaving in the near future, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Srouji, the architect of Apple’s prized in-house chips effort, has informed colleagues that he intends to join another company if he ultimately departs.
Losing him would have been a blow in any case, but it would have been especially dangerous to see him take all of the expertise involved in developing Apple silicon chips to a potential competitor.
... continue reading