Meanwhile, Parekh will replace Maestri on Apple’s executive team and will also report to Cook | Photo: Bloomberg
By Mark Gurman
Apple Inc.’s longtime chief financial officer Luca Maestri will step down at the end of the year, handing over to top deputy Kevan Parekh after more than a decade.
Parekh, 52, will become chief financial officer on Jan. 1 in what Apple described as a “planned succession.” Maestri, who has been CFO since 2014, will remain at Apple in a reduced role and continue to oversee the company’s information technology and real estate functions, the company said Monday.
Maestri, 60, was Apple’s chief financial officer in the post-Steve Jobs era and a familiar voice on the company’s conference calls. During his tenure, Apple became more of a services provider, a category that accounts for much of its revenue growth. The Italian-born executive will continue to report to Chief Executive Tim Cook in his new role.
Parekh, meanwhile, will replace Maestri on Apple’s executive team and will also report to Cook.
“Kevan has been an indispensable member of Apple’s financial leadership team and understands the company inside and out,” Cook said in a statement. “His keen intellect, wise judgment and financial brilliance make him the perfect choice to be Apple’s next CFO.”
Parekh has been with Apple for 11 years, joining around the same time as Maestri. She currently oversees financial planning, investor relations and market research functions. She took on more responsibilities late last year when Maestri’s other deputy, Saori Casey, stepped down. She later joined Sonos Inc. as chief financial officer.
Maestri had been grooming Parekh for the CFO role for the past several months, and Bloomberg News reported in May that Apple had been preparing to name Parekh as its next CFO. Parekh has also increasingly been attending private meetings with Apple financial analysts and partners. Maestri said Monday that he has “enormous confidence” in his successor.
Apple shares fell as much as 1.7 percent in late trading but have recovered most of the ground. The transition will likely be seamless, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Anurag Rana and Andrew Girard. The change “appears to us to be part of a normal management planning move,” they said in a note.
Maestri’s move to a smaller role at the company follows a recent pattern for company executives. When Phil Schiller stepped down as chief marketing officer in 2020, he decided to stay at Apple and now leads a smaller portfolio that includes the App Store. Dan Riccio, director of hardware engineering until 2021, has left the company’s management team but still oversees development of the Vision Pro headset.
“We are fortunate that we will continue to benefit from the leadership and vision that have been the hallmark of his stewardship of the company,” Cook said of Maestri. The move marks the second CFO transition during Cook’s tenure, with previous CFO Peter Oppenheimer stepping down in 2014.
Apple’s management team is likely to undergo further changes in the near future. Many of the executives are in their 60s and have been with the company for decades.
This is the second notable leadership transition this month. Last week, Apple told employees that Matt Fischer, its vice president in charge of the App Store, will be leaving the company as part of a reorganization. He will be replaced by two deputies.
First published: August 27, 2024 | 8:08 am IS
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