Apple announced Monday that Dan Riccio, the longtime chief of hardware engineering, will transition to the role of vice president of engineering when he takes on a “ new project ” for the tech giant.
Riccio will step down from his current position as SVP of Hardware Engineering, but will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. John Ternus will now lead the Apple Hardware Engineering organization as a member of the executive team.
“Every innovation that Dan has helped bring Apple to life has made us a better and more innovative company, and we are excited that he will remain part of the team,” said Cook. “John’s deep expertise and broad experience makes him a bold and visionary leader of our Hardware Engineering teams. I would like to congratulate them both on these exciting new steps, and look forward to many more innovations they will help bring to the world. . ”
Riccio joined Apple in 1998 as Vice President of Product Design and rose to oversee the first iPad as Vice President of iPad Hardware Engineering in 2010. In 2012, Riccio and fellow CEO Craig Federighi were promoted to SVP status, with the former hardware chief Bob Mansfield as SVP of Hardware Engineering.
“Working at Apple was the chance of a lifetime to create the best products in the world with the most talented people you can imagine,” Riccio said in a prepared statement. “After 23 years of leading our product design or hardware engineering teams – culminating in our largest and most ambitious product year yet – now is the right time for change. Then I look forward to doing what I love most. Hold: My time and energy at Apple to create something new and wonderful that I couldn’t be more excited about. ”
Riccio’s transition to a VP role is strangely reminiscent of Mansfield’s move in 2012. At that point, Mansfield was due to retire, but agreed to remain in a limited capacity to advise Cook on “future products”. Four years later, Mansfield was reportedly sued to lead the “Apple Car” project after the former head, Steve Zadesky, left Apple amid strained relationships. The effort is now led by AI and Siri chief John Giannandrea.
The executive branch reshuffle comes amid reports that development of a rumored “Apple Glass” AR headset has stalled.
Acquiring Riccio is Apple veteran and current VP of Hardware Engineering John Ternus. Ternus, a member of Apple’s product design team since 2001, oversaw the hardware engineering of products, including the first generation of AirPods and every generation of iPad. More recently, Ternus has featured prominently in keynote presentations detailing the Mac’s transition to Apple Silicon.