Ousted Apple exec Scott Forstall reportedly advising startups, focusing on philanthropy

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Not much has been heard of former iOS head Scott Forstall since he was fired from Apple in 2012, but a report published on Monday claims to shed some light on the ousted executive's activities over the past year.

Scott Forstall


Forstall was highlighted in one of technology and business publication The Information's first reports (via Business Insider), which assembled a list of the tech industry's "free agents," or big-name executives no longer attached to a specific company.

Over the past year, Forstall has spent time traveling to Italy and South Africa, possibly as part of a new interest in philanthropy. Exactly what philanthropic activities he participated in is not clear, as the report falls short of providing specifics, only mentioning a focus in education, poverty and human rights.

Perhaps more interesting is Forstall's alleged involvement in unnamed startups. According to the publication, he has advised a number of up and coming tech firms and is still in contact with venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz. It is also noted, however, that Apple employees believe the former iOS chief is more likely to start his own company.

Forstall was ousted from Apple in 2012 following a brouhaha over the company's then-new Maps app. The debacle ultimately ended in a public apology from CEO Tim Cook, which sources say Forstall refused to sign.

Credited as the co-inventor of iOS, Forstall was an important figure in Cupertino, to the degree where some believed he could one day be Apple's CEO. The former SVP of iOS Software has been profiled as being "maddeningly political" and reportedly butted heads with other executives, including SVP of Design Jony Ive.

At the time of his departure, it was reported that Forstall would be staying on as a special advisor to Tim Cook until 2013, though his presence at the company effectively ended in October 2012.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 66
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member

    I wonder whether he and Sinofsky have any meaningful contact. 

  • Reply 2 of 66
    Not sure how he managed to stay out of the press this long. He is pretty high profile.
  • Reply 3 of 66
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member

    Waits for the idiot(s) to say I hope he comes back to save iOS 7....

  • Reply 4 of 66
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member

    Microsoft could sure use him to sort out their phones.

  • Reply 5 of 66
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,695member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post

     

    Waits for the idiot(s) to say I hope he comes back to save iOS 7....


    hahaha.  You should go on the macrumors thread.  It's loaded with them.

  • Reply 6 of 66
    kkerstkkerst Posts: 330member

    "...exactly what philanthropic activities he participated in is not clear, as the report falls short of providing specifics..."

     

    Translation: He can't find a job and no one wants him. 

  • Reply 7 of 66

    Go easy on him. In a parallel universe, where Apple Maps turned out amazing (it's getting there), he's being hailed as the new hero at Apple.

     

    But skeuomorphism (sp?), that's a tough one.....

  • Reply 8 of 66
    jetlawjetlaw Posts: 156member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kkerst View Post

     

    "...exactly what philanthropic activities he participated in is not clear, as the report falls short of providing specifics..."

     

    Translation: He can't find a job and no one wants him. 


    Saying that "no one wants [Scott Forstall]" is a bit like saying that someone who wins a silver olympic medal must really suck at their sport.  I am no fan of skeumorphic design, but I think it is pretty clear that Forstall contributed greatly to the success of iOS, and to a lesser extent, Apple itself.  It's easy to be an armchair quarterback and criticize high-profile people who make high-profile mistakes, but it is awfully hard to be successful enough to become high-profile in the first place.

  • Reply 9 of 66
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post

     

    Waits for the idiot(s) to say I hope he comes back to save iOS 7....


     

    He's probably never seen it. He's probably still in the 26% of people using iOS 6.

  • Reply 10 of 66
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by CanukStorm View Post

     

    hahaha.  You should go on the macrumors thread.  It's loaded with them.


     

    I saw...MacRumors forums are full of idjits...which is why I don't have an account with them anymore. 

  • Reply 11 of 66
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kkerst View Post

     

    "...exactly what philanthropic activities he participated in is not clear, as the report falls short of providing specifics..."

     

    Translation: He can't find a job and no one wants him. 




    Oh please.  Give me a break.  That man has more money than you will ever have in a hundred lifetimes.  He's not the kind of kind of guy that needs to find a "job".  He'll do his own thing, start a company, invest in companies, and the like.  He's not going to work for somebody.  He'll work WITH somebody perhaps, but he's in a position to write his own ticket.



     

  • Reply 12 of 66
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member

    Is it really necessary for AppleInsider to have this bigass photo of bug eyes? They can't at least scale it down about 50%???

  • Reply 13 of 66
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post

     



    Oh please.  Give me a break.  That man has more money than you will ever have in a hundred lifetimes.  He's not the kind of kind of guy that needs to find a "job".  He'll do his own thing, start a company, invest in companies, and the like.  He's not going to work for somebody.  He'll work WITH somebody perhaps, but he's in a position to write his own ticket.



     


     

    I agree...I think he'll end up with his own company. He left Apple with millions of dollars in his pocket. He by no means needs to find a job. He'll more likely use his money to start or partner up with his own company. 

  • Reply 14 of 66
    kkerstkkerst Posts: 330member

    Let's see how successful he'll be without Apple. 

  • Reply 15 of 66
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kkerst View Post

     

    Let's see how successful he'll be without Apple. 


    Right, because these guys are only smart when they're at Apple. Forstall was a mainstay on the NeXT team. Ron Johnson is the reason Target is where it is today. Tony Fadell is arguably one of the more innovative minds in technology right now. Apple hires smart people because they are smart, they don't instantly become smart once at Apple.

  • Reply 16 of 66
    I always liked the guy. After Steve's passing he was the youngest and most energetic on stage - I think he connected really well during presentations. He's one of the very, very few who can claim to have given birth to a new platform (iOS). I wish him well going forward, and expect that he will go on to create some great new things.

    FYI, "consulting agreements" are pretty standard and help justify the golden parachute and more importantly his stock options.
  • Reply 17 of 66
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kkerst View Post

     

    Let's see how successful he'll be without Apple. 




    He already is successful.  What's with the chip on your shoulder?  He could not do anything but live on a beach and that would be okay by me.  He doesn't need Apple anymore.

  • Reply 18 of 66
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    hittrj01 wrote: »
    Right, because these guys are only smart when they're at Apple. Forstall was a mainstay on the NeXT team. Ron Johnson is the reason Target is where it is today. Tony Fadell is arguably one of the more innovative minds in technology right now. Apple hires smart people because they are smart, they don't instantly become smart once at Apple.
    Tell that to the Steve Jobs fanboys.
  • Reply 19 of 66
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member

    Capable high level execs like him are hard to find, I don't think even Apple could afford to let someone like him go (even though they did). Tim Cook should have found *some* way he could stay.

  • Reply 20 of 66
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member

    I love the number of negative opinions people have of someone who they never had met.  Scott is a brilliant man who much like Steve Jobs had reported difficulties working with people...  I wouldn't want to write him off as a bum just yet...

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