Apple appoints new Senior VP of Operations to address product quality
Apple has appointed a new Senior Vice President of Operations dedicated to ensuring that Apple products meet "the highest standards of quality, "AppleInsider has learned.
Jeff Williams, who came from IBM to Apple more than a decade ago, was promoted this month to join Apple's executive team as chief operation officer Tim Cook's right hand man.
The move comes just weeks after the Cupertino-based company found itself the subject of intense public scrutiny following the launch of its new iPhone 4, which has been marred by problems ranging from a controversial antenna design, spotty bluetooth performance and an unpredictable proximity sensor -- all of which have combined to sour the experience for some early adopters.
Before being named Vice President of Operations in 2004, Williams held a position as Apple's head of worldwide procurement where he was responsible for helping to manage the company's supply chain and securing components for its foray into the digital music player market.
According to Apple, Williams also played a significant role in the company's entry into the mobile phone market with the launch of the iPhone, and he has led worldwide operations for iPod and iPhone since that time. In his new role, Williams will focus on assuring product quality and lead a team of people around the world responsible for end-to-end supply chain management.
It's believed Apple is grooming Williams to take on Cook's role as chief operation officer in the event that Cook takes over Steve Jobs' role as the company's chief executive. Cook has been profiled as the most likely successor to Jobs when Apple's iconic chief chooses to step down.
Apple's new $27 million man: Jeff Williams, Senior Vice President of Operations.
Lots of stock
It appears that Apple began considering Williams for a executive leadership role in earnest back in August of 2005, when it awarded the then Vice President of Operations 40,000 stock options. At Wednesday's closing price, those options, which have since vested, would net him just over $8.3 million before taxes.
Over the next 4 years, Apple continued to award Williams with outright stock grants to keep him within the family, including a 10,000 share grant in 2006, a 20,000 share grant in 2007, a 18,750 share grant in 2008, and a 26,250 share grant last year. Those grants vest in annual or semi annual increments over a four-year periods, the latter of which won't vest completely until September of 2013.
At Wednesday's closing price of AAPL shares, Williams' total stake in Apple from employee compensation -- should he remain with the company 3 more years -- is worth nearly $27.4 million.
Jeff Williams, who came from IBM to Apple more than a decade ago, was promoted this month to join Apple's executive team as chief operation officer Tim Cook's right hand man.
The move comes just weeks after the Cupertino-based company found itself the subject of intense public scrutiny following the launch of its new iPhone 4, which has been marred by problems ranging from a controversial antenna design, spotty bluetooth performance and an unpredictable proximity sensor -- all of which have combined to sour the experience for some early adopters.
Before being named Vice President of Operations in 2004, Williams held a position as Apple's head of worldwide procurement where he was responsible for helping to manage the company's supply chain and securing components for its foray into the digital music player market.
According to Apple, Williams also played a significant role in the company's entry into the mobile phone market with the launch of the iPhone, and he has led worldwide operations for iPod and iPhone since that time. In his new role, Williams will focus on assuring product quality and lead a team of people around the world responsible for end-to-end supply chain management.
It's believed Apple is grooming Williams to take on Cook's role as chief operation officer in the event that Cook takes over Steve Jobs' role as the company's chief executive. Cook has been profiled as the most likely successor to Jobs when Apple's iconic chief chooses to step down.
Apple's new $27 million man: Jeff Williams, Senior Vice President of Operations.
Lots of stock
It appears that Apple began considering Williams for a executive leadership role in earnest back in August of 2005, when it awarded the then Vice President of Operations 40,000 stock options. At Wednesday's closing price, those options, which have since vested, would net him just over $8.3 million before taxes.
Over the next 4 years, Apple continued to award Williams with outright stock grants to keep him within the family, including a 10,000 share grant in 2006, a 20,000 share grant in 2007, a 18,750 share grant in 2008, and a 26,250 share grant last year. Those grants vest in annual or semi annual increments over a four-year periods, the latter of which won't vest completely until September of 2013.
At Wednesday's closing price of AAPL shares, Williams' total stake in Apple from employee compensation -- should he remain with the company 3 more years -- is worth nearly $27.4 million.
Comments
Hopefully he can improve already great products - I doubt he was hired to just have a sacrificial lamb if needed.
I am a huge Apple fan, but time and experience has taught me never to be an early software update adopter when it comes to Apple; and that all Apple hardware releases come with serious defects when they are first released.
Knowing the news media and blog articles like I do, and being pessimistic on the side, I think this is just bullshit Apple PR to garner attention and renew faith in its customers.
This news is fortuitous given the bad press Apple has recently received for the iPhone 4 antenna issues.
Probably overdue for as large as they have gotten.
Hopefully he can improve already great products - I doubt he was hired to just have a sacrificial lamb if needed.
I'd be that lamb for 27M.
Good luck Apple. Seems like you haven't been able to produce a single hardware or software product in the past 10 years that hasn't had major flaws. Your software upgrades break as many things as they fix most times.
I am a huge Apple fan, but time and experience has taught me never to be an early software update adopter when it comes to Apple; and that all Apple hardware releases come with serious defects when they are first released.
Knowing the news media and blog articles like I do, and being pessimistic on the side, I think this is just bullshit Apple PR to garner attention and renew faith in its customers.
This news is fortuitous given the bad press Apple has recently received for the iPhone 4 antenna issues.
Did you OD on your "I'm an asshole" pills this morning? You make yourself sound like some tech blog guru..."knowing the news media and blog articles like I do"....you must really have a sucky life if all you do is sit and read tech blogs...TROLL
Good luck Apple. Seems like you haven't been able to produce a single hardware or software product in the past 10 years that hasn't had major flaws. Your software upgrades break as many things as they fix most times.
I am a huge Apple fan, but time and experience has taught me never to be an early software update adopter when it comes to Apple; and that all Apple hardware releases come with serious defects when they are first released.
Knowing the news media and blog articles like I do, and being pessimistic on the side, I think this is just bullshit Apple PR to garner attention and renew faith in its customers.
This news is fortuitous given the bad press Apple has recently received for the iPhone 4 antenna issues.
Thank goodness there are know-it-all folks like you protect us delicate souls from the evil of Apple. I'm simply stunned that an individual of your caliber hasn't been handpicked by the Jobs himself to lead.
I'll hold my breath for that glorious day to come... really...
p.s. Don't quit your "real" job.
Good luck Apple. Seems like you haven't been able to produce a single hardware or software product in the past 10 years that hasn't had major flaws. Your software upgrades break as many things as they fix most times.
I am a huge Apple fan, but time and experience has taught me never to be an early software update adopter when it comes to Apple; and that all Apple hardware releases come with serious defects when they are first released.
Knowing the news media and blog articles like I do, and being pessimistic on the side, I think this is just bullshit Apple PR to garner attention and renew faith in its customers.
This news is fortuitous given the bad press Apple has recently received for the iPhone 4 antenna issues.
What and company's like Dell have amazing hardware? Please, I have seen much worse hardware than Apple. Or are you one of them 'I miss the 90's Apple' folk's, who liked it when they created computer's not this new iSh*t we have today, where's me Preforma?... so many models, so underpowered, so overpriced. I'll buy it!
PS. Jean Louise Gassee is no more than a French prick.
Apart from a possible change in compensation terms, this is basically just spin doctoring from Apple corporate PR.
I'd be that lamb for 27M.
27M (minus the IRS's cut)... for the honor of being crucified publicly by the press and privately by Steve?
He can have it.
I think it's about time AI create a tiny little section reserved for those who care to engage in quality discussion. It's just getting ridiculous now.
What they really need is to implement a down-ranking filtering comment scoring system where community members can vote on a particular post. Posts that earn a negative score get filtered out from the default view (logged in members can adjust the filter threshold).
Such a system was implemented at Slashdot and brought that site back from the seventh layer of Internet hell. Before that, the site was unreadable.
That way, members can down rank flamers, idiots, spammers, the morons who post "first post!" etc. into oblivion. Those miscreants will quickly give up and go elsewhere. Ignore lists don't scale well. Judging the content is better than judging the user anyhow. Everyone can occasionally misstate something or get their facts wrong. This system encourages people to make interesting and intelligent responses. It also reduces the tendency for people to add meaningless posts like "+1" or "this". Agreeing with someone's post might seem nice, but without adding any original commentary, it doesn't add any long term pedagogical value to the conversation.
The only risk is the possibility that haters take over the forum by downranking all the Apple-positive comments. That's where the site operators and moderators need to steer the conversation. Some sites have failed at this task.
That said, this site is marginally better than some of the other Apple rumor sites. You might confuse some of the other forums with YouTube comments.
I think it's about time AI create a tiny little section reserved for those who care to engage in quality discussion. It's just getting ridiculous now.
Heh this IS quality. Try some other Mac daily news sites. Calling them juvenile would be a compliment.
I have upmost respect for Tim Cook when it comes to the daily operations at Apple, and hearing him on the quarterly conference calls, it is apparent to me that he is careful, methodical, and extremely detailed in his work performance.
I have no doubt that he will run a tight ship at Apple even when Steve has left us. But words like efficiency, supply chain management, low channel inventory, etc., are not words that people typically ascribe to Apple. Instead, we think of Apple is innovative, revolutionary, visionary, inventive, and so forth.
So with all due respect to Tim Cook, Apple does need someone who can maintain its remarkable, operational efficiency, but what it needs the most is someone who has a vision to see things as they could be, not as they are. Cook is the kind of guy who is rooted in the reality of today, but Apple also needs someone who can imagine an unreal tomorrow, and ultimately bring it to fruition.
I know that sounds harsh, but if Tim Cook (the manager) is Apple's succession plan, then they had better have a good idea of where they will find the next Steve Jobs (the visionary).
The guy's job doesn't change. He's going to be doing the same thing next week as he's been doing for years.
Apart from a possible change in compensation terms, this is basically just spin doctoring from Apple corporate PR.
I think you are being cynical and oversimplifying things a bit.
'Quality' means a lot more in corporations than what most people think it does
I am glad that Apple is doing this. They've got to a size and a product range where this issue has to be addressed up and down their entire value chain, in both hardware and software, in both their internal operations and business processes as well as their external relationships (e.g., suppliers, customer-facing tasks).
In fact, this is going to be a HUGE job at Apple, in my view. Quality is what set this company apart, and what justifies the premium prices they charge. They have slipped a bit on that score recently, and to have a point person for that can only be a good thing.
But you are no Steve Jobs.
I have upmost respect for Tim Cook when it comes to the daily operations at Apple, and hearing him on the quarterly conference calls, it is apparent to me that he is careful, methodical, and extremely detailed in his work performance.
I have no doubt that he will run a tight ship at Apple even when Steve has left us. But words like efficiency, supply chain management, low channel inventory, etc., are not words that people typically ascribe to Apple. Instead, we think of Apple is innovative, revolutionary, visionary, inventive, and so forth.
So with all due respect to Tim Cook, Apple does need someone who can maintain its remarkable, operational efficiency, but what it needs the most is someone who has a vision to see things as they could be, not as they are. Cook is the kind of guy who is rooted in the reality of today, but Apple also needs someone who can imagine an unreal tomorrow, and ultimately bring it to fruition.
I know that sounds harsh, but if Tim Cook (the manager) is Apple's succession plan, then they had better have a good idea of where they will find the next Steve Jobs (the visionary).
You (or I) have no clue what people - especially SJ and the board - may see in this person. Cook is projecting a persona that his current job (COO) demands of him, which is exactly to obsess over the seemingly jargonistic stuff that seem to bore you.
People also grow into their jobs, and only the group of folks who oversee him and know Apple inside-out can know what he is really capable of.
I think it's about time AI create a tiny little section reserved for those who care to engage in quality discussion. It's just getting ridiculous now.
It's a bit like when you start a new job/group/class with a bunch of other new people and everything is fresh and full of potential. Then eventually the honeymoon is over and you have people that have moved on and the ones left that just stagnate and develop antisocial habits.
Internet forums feel a bit like that for me these days. Half the time most posts are really just a poor attempt at humor, a hate-fest or adding to a mutual admiration society.
On the bright side, there are still those 1 in a 1000 comments that are invaluable.
Heh this IS quality. Try some other Mac daily news sites. Calling them juvenile would be a compliment.
I've got to agree, there's some real Apple hating going on elsewhere. Then again there's some real brown nosing going on here. Still, I'd like to see how some of these posts rate, because Apple positive or Apple negative, I can't believe what I read here sometimes.
Good luck Apple. Seems like you haven't been able to produce a single hardware or software product in the past 10 years that hasn't had major flaws. Your software upgrades break as many things as they fix most times.
I am a huge Apple fan, but time and experience has taught me never to be an early software update adopter when it comes to Apple; and that all Apple hardware releases come with serious defects when they are first released.
Knowing the news media and blog articles like I do, and being pessimistic on the side, I think this is just bullshit Apple PR to garner attention and renew faith in its customers.
This news is fortuitous given the bad press Apple has recently received for the iPhone 4 antenna issues.
Apple's problems usually come with early "hardware" update instead of software's. For instance iOS 4.01 is running very well on my iPhone 3GS.
I have learnt not to buy first generation Apple products over the years, that's why I skipped the original iPhone, iPhone 3G and first iPad.
I think it's about time AI create a tiny little section reserved for those who care to engage in quality discussion. It's just getting ridiculous now.
Apple's fantastic growth in the mobile phone market has hurt a great deal of profit for traditional conservative phone makers. In addition, iPhone being a top smartphone has become a serious threat to other smartphone makers like HTC.
Imagine if you are one of the marketing guys in these companies. What will you do? R&D takes time and the guys in your own company may or may not deliver competitive products in a short time.
So the only hope is to hijack on the great hype of iPhone and turn it down to a PR nightmare with all efforts.
That's what happening now.