Apple Veteran Phil Schiller is Stepping Down From His Role Leading the App Store and Company Events

Phil Schiller, an Apple veteran who was responsible for leading the App Store and Apple Events, is stepping down from his role today, which is also Tim Cook’s last day as the CEO of the company. As Cook will transition to an executive chairman position, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is reporting that Schiller will also remain at the company to work on unspecified projects, all while retaining his “Apple Fellow” title.

As Apple’s former Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Schiller used to be one of the company’s most well-known public figures. Over his 30 years at Apple, he contributed to the launch of many blockbuster products including the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, the App Store, and the iPad.

Schiller was also a recurrent speaker at Apple’s in-person keynote, mostly during the Steve Jobs era. You may remember him from his “can’t innovate anymore, my ass” line during the presentation of the cylindrical Mac Pro back in 2013. This design was ultimately poorly received by power users, leading Apple to return to a more traditional tower design in 2019. Schiller was also the Apple executive who said that the company stripping iPhones of their headphone jacks was all about “courage.”

“Schiller’s job change, employees believe, is a big step toward the executive ultimately retiring,” Gurman reported today. As a consequence of the leadership change, the App Store will now be overseen by Apple’s services division led by Eddy Cue.

While Apple declined to comment on Gurman’s report, Tim Cook’s final memo to employees as CEO of Apple leaked today. Cook didn’t mention Schiller in his email to employees, but he had a lot of praise for his successor, John Ternus. “I will miss leading you and being with you for every step, even as I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John. Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership,” Cook said today.