Apple Newsroom, yesterday:
Apple today announced that Jennifer Newstead will become Apple’s
general counsel on March 1, 2026, following a transition of duties
from Kate Adams, who has served as Apple’s general counsel since
2017. She will join Apple as senior vice president in January,
reporting to CEO Tim Cook and serving on Apple’s executive team.In addition, Lisa Jackson, vice president for Environment, Policy,
and Social Initiatives, will retire in late January 2026. The
Government Affairs organization will transition to Adams, who will
oversee the team until her retirement late next year, after which
it will be led by Newstead. Newstead’s title will become senior
vice president, General Counsel and Government Affairs, reflecting
the combining of the two organizations. The Environment and Social
Initiatives teams will report to Apple chief operating officer
Sabih Khan. […]Newstead was most recently chief legal officer at Meta and
previously served as the legal adviser of the U.S. Department of
State, where she led the legal team responsible for advising the
Secretary of State on legal issues affecting the conduct of U.S.
foreign relations.
Monday’s announcement that AI head John Giannandrea is retiring and the hierarchy for AI related projects being further reshuffled until software head Craig Federighi was significant, but not surprising, given how things went this year for Apple with AI.
Wednesday’s announcement that VP of design and Liquid Glass frontman Alan Dye is leaving Apple for Meta was a shock, both inside and outside the company. As I wrote this week, I think it’s great news for Apple, but not by plan.
This news yesterday is just typical planned retirements. The timing is unfortunate though. In the eyes of observers unfamiliar with the company, they might be misconstrued as signs of executive upheaval, occurring shortly after the minor and major dramas of Giannandrea’s and Dye’s departures. The Jackson/Adams/Newstead transitions announced yesterday are nothing of the sort.
Jackson had a very nice run at Apple and carved out a rather unique position within the company. Apple environmental efforts expanded considerably under her leadership. I’ve never met anyone with a bad word to say about her, and in my own interactions with her, found her downright delightful.
As for Adams, the responsibilities of Apple’s general counsel are generally far afield from my interests. The only two times I’ve mentioned her at DF were when she got the job in 2017, and a passing reference when the FBI sent a letter to Apple, addressed to Adams, in 2020 regarding the locked phone of a mass shooter in Pensacola, Florida. That’s a
