Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has published the latest edition of his Power On newsletter , recapping the last ten years of Apple’s corporate structure. During that time, the design team’s influence has waned at executive levels under Tim Cook . Gurman believes that incoming CEO John Ternus may be ready to restore that relationship and reaffirm the design team’s importance to the company’s future.
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Financial and operational functions began to have an increasing influence on product direction, which drastically changed the internal dynamics of the company.
Jony Ive, who was the brains behind some of Apple's most iconic products, including the iPhone and iPad, had a huge influence on the company. Walter Isaacson 2011 biography of Steve Jobs highlighted this influence, with Jobs stating that Ive had more operational authority than anyone else at Apple except himself. This structure allowed the design team to determine the company's product timeline from the top down.
After Ive left, oversight of the design team passed to former COO Jeff Williams. This change marked a significant shift from the previous regime, as the emphasis shifted from design to operational functions. Apple, in this new era, did not even have a senior design role, which underscored the downgrading of design. Just recently, the profiles of Molly Anderson and Steve Lemay to the leadership page, indicating a possible recognition of the need to refresh the design team.
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However, Gurman believes that incoming CEO John Ternus may be ready to rekindle that relationship and reaffirm the importance of the design team to the company’s future. John Ternus, who has already spent a significant amount of time with the industrial design team, seems to be looking to restore some of the design team’s authority. Ternus is quoted as saying that “the most beautifully designed thing most customers own is an Apple product. We’re going to make sure that stays that way.”
Apple has been touting Ternus as the face of recent design successes, such as the MacBook Neo. Ternus' first major public role when he takes over will be to unveil the brand new foldable iPhone at a media event in the fall. The move is expected to be a game-changer for Apple, as the foldable iPhone could herald a new era of innovation and design for the company.
The return to design could have significant implications for users and organizations. Apple users are accustomed to products that combine aesthetics with functionality, and strengthening the design team could lead to even more innovative products. For organizations, this could mean a renewed confidence in Apple’s ability to lead the market with products that not only work flawlessly but also stand out for their design.
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The leadership change at Apple with John Ternus could be the beginning of a new era for the company, where design will return to the forefront. The challenge for Ternus will be to balance the need for innovation with operational requirements, keeping Apple at the top of the technology industry. If he can restore the emphasis on design, Apple can continue to set trends and deliver products that excite consumers worldwide.
