Apple recently appointed Carol Surface as its first Chief People Officer (CPO), but she is already leaving the company after a brief tenure. It is quite unusual for a senior executive to depart so soon from Apple.
Surface was appointed in February 2023 during a significant executive restructuring at the trillion-dollar company. She came to Apple from Medtronic, where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Her appointment was announced in a memo to employees from CEO Tim Cook, and it marked her transition from Deirdre O’Brien, who remained in her role overseeing retail operations.
With over 20 years of HR experience, Surface brought a wealth of knowledge to the position. Prior to Medtronic, she held the role of EVP and CHRO at Best Buy for nearly four years. Her longest tenure was at PepsiCo, where she last served as CPO for Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Now, employees have been informed of Surface’s departure, despite the role being created specifically for her. Deirdre O’Brien will once again oversee responsibilities such as recruitment, inclusion, diversity, and HR for Apple’s 160,000-strong workforce, in addition to managing retail operations.
Media reports suggest that several other top executives, including Luca Maestri (Chief Financial Officer), Dan Riccio (Senior Engineering Executive), and Matt Fischer (Head of the App Store), are also set to leave their positions. However, Maestri will continue to oversee areas like real estate and information systems.
