Apple's Lisa Jackson expands leadership role to government, education policy

Posted:
in General Discussion edited June 2015
Apple on Tuesday quietly announced Lisa Jackson will taken on additional duties beyond company related environmental issues, and is to be responsible for all policy initiatives including worldwide government affairs, education, accessibility and social concerns.




As reflected on Apple's executive bio webpage, Jackson is now vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, a promotion confirmed by The Washington Post.

In a memo sent out to employees, CEO Tim Cook explained the broader area of responsibility will see Jackson managing government affairs, a task with which she is familiar given her former role as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"Lisa will apply her passion and her unique skill set to integrate teams across Apple and make our impact even greater. As part of her new role, Lisa will also take over management of our worldwide Government Affairs function," the memo reads.

Jackson's new duties also entail oversight of important education initiatives that have long been at Apple's core. According to Cook, the company is already working with 114 schools through the ConnectED program.

Apple hired Jackson in 2013 to mitigate any impact company operations might have on the environment. The executive has proven effective in balancing out Apple's increasing appetite for raw materials, energy and clean waste disposal associated with device manufacturing and data services. Through various renewable energy, recycling and supplier responsibility projects, Apple has been able to maintain a relatively small carbon footprint while fostering use of self-replenishing vital resources like virgin fiber.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I'm curious why some sites are calling this a promotion. Tim Cook doesn't mention a promotion anywhere in his memo and her title is still vice president.
  • Reply 2 of 19
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member

    She did a very good job promoting Apple responsibility for world environment but I can't help but think Apple should have a new VP for education. Education should be important enough for Apple to have its own dedicated VP. Likewise for SIRI and AI.

  • Reply 3 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by matrix07 View Post

     

     Likewise for SIRI and AI.


     

    I think a VP for SIRI won't be happening anytime soon.

     

    Why would apple need a VP for Apple Insider??

  • Reply 4 of 19
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    She d
    I think a VP for SIRI won't be happening anytime soon.

    Why would apple need a VP for Apple Insider??

    So we can have better news, faster site and most importantly, better forum. :D
  • Reply 5 of 19
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member

    Climate change, education, social initiatives and policy - is Apple a technology company or a political party?

  • Reply 6 of 19
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    ascii wrote: »
    Climate change, education, social initiatives and policy - is Apple a technology company or a political party?

    Under Tim Cook it sometimes feels like it's veering to the latter. I just want Apple to make great products and services that people want to buy and use. Stay out of the social activism stuff. If Tim Cook or other execs want to be involved in that as private citizens good for them. But Apple the company should be focused on making great products full stop. I'm not sure what advocating for gay rights has to do with making great products.
  • Reply 7 of 19

    > virgin fiber

     

    OK, I now understand it's not fiber made out of virgins.........

  • Reply 8 of 19
    am8449am8449 Posts: 392member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    Under Tim Cook it sometimes feels like it's veering to the latter. I just want Apple to make great products and services that people want to buy and use. Stay out of the social activism stuff. If Tim Cook or other execs want to be involved in that as private citizens good for them. But Apple the company should be focused on making great products full stop. I'm not sure what advocating for gay rights has to do with making great products.

     

    One could make the point that social initiatives are part of the process of making great products. For example, choosing to hire a diverse work force which includes women, minorities, and gays. I guess it all depends on whether you're for or against a particular issue.

     

    Personally, I'm glad that Apple is trying to do good in areas like health care (with Research Kit), where it seems to only tangentially help them sell products, but has the potential to effect positive change.

  • Reply 9 of 19
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    ascii wrote: »
    Climate change, education, social initiatives and policy - is Apple a technology company or a political party?

    Believe it or not, these areas of interest exist outside the world of politics.
  • Reply 10 of 19
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by am8449 View Post

     

     

    One could make the point that social initiatives are part of the process of making great products. For example, choosing to hire a diverse work force which includes women, minorities, and gays. I guess it all depends on whether you're for or against a particular issue.

     

    Personally, I'm glad that Apple is trying to do good in areas like health care (with Research Kit), where it seems to only tangentially help them sell products, but has the potential to effect positive change.




    One could but make that point but they would be wrong.  Hiring the best person that meets the requirements for a position/job is part of the process of making great products.  Whether that person is sexually attracted to men or women makes no difference.  Nor does it matter if they have a penis or vagina.  Making a company diverse for the sake of diversity is a fools errand.

  • Reply 11 of 19
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RadarTheKat View Post





    Believe it or not, these areas of interest exist outside the world of politics.

    Well, reading her job description above, it sounds more like a cabinet portfolio than a corporate vice president to me.

  • Reply 12 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by razorpit View Post



    One could but make that point but they would be wrong.  Hiring the best person that meets the requirements for a position/job is part of the process of making great products.  Whether that person is sexually attracted to men or women makes no difference.  Nor does it matter if they have a penis or vagina.  Making a company diverse for the sake of diversity is a fools errand.


    Apple hires engineers with specific skills such as LTE or ASIC design to help them make great products.  Hiring women can help them target products to women.   The women that Apple had present at their keynote or otherwise at WWDC clearly knew their stuff and were right for the job.  I think a diverse workplace is more interesting and enjoyable for employees to work at, and I'm glad that Apple is aiming that direction.

  • Reply 13 of 19
    am8449am8449 Posts: 392member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by razorpit View Post

     

    One could but make that point but they would be wrong.  Hiring the best person that meets the requirements for a position/job is part of the process of making great products.  Whether that person is sexually attracted to men or women makes no difference.  Nor does it matter if they have a penis or vagina.  Making a company diverse for the sake of diversity is a fools errand.


     

    I agree that "making a company diverse for the sake of diversity is a fools errand."

     

    However, I think it's more nuanced than that. Sometimes there isn't a "best person" to hire. There might be several qualified candidates, each that would bring their own unique strengths to the company. And you might decide to hire one of these candidates over the others because she's a woman and would bring a unique perspective to a tech company that's 90% male.

  • Reply 14 of 19
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by am8449 View Post

     

     

    I agree that "making a company diverse for the sake of diversity is a fools errand."

     

    However, I think it's more nuanced than that. Sometimes there isn't a "best person" to hire. There might be several qualified candidates, each that would bring their own unique strengths to the company. And you might decide to hire one of these candidates over the others because she's a woman and would bring a unique perspective to a tech company that's 90% male.




    I wouldn't have an issue with that if her talent levels were on par with the other people competing for the position.  It drives me nuts when someone comes along and says we need/demand more "X" people.  Well maybe they're haven't been any qualified "X" people apply for the position(s) available, and that's a different discussion.  I can't imagine any business turning away a qualified person to fill a position.

  • Reply 15 of 19
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member

    Give her the job of getting the confederate flag off the app store.

  • Reply 16 of 19
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    Under Tim Cook it sometimes feels like it's veering to the latter. I just want Apple to make great products and services that people want to buy and use. Stay out of the social activism stuff. If Tim Cook or other execs want to be involved in that as private citizens good for them. But Apple the company should be focused on making great products full stop. I'm not sure what advocating for gay rights has to do with making great products.

    A very myopic view. Apple is all about "making great products people love." People don't love (and thus buy) products that don't fit their view of proper business conduct. While there are some interesting adjectives in her new title, in the end, she is a marketing professional.

     

    And telecommunication is a heavily regulated industry. 

  • Reply 17 of 19
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by eightzero View Post

     

    Give her the job of getting the confederate flag off the app store.




    No.

  • Reply 18 of 19
    am8449am8449 Posts: 392member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by razorpit View Post

     

    I wouldn't have an issue with that if her talent levels were on par with the other people competing for the position.  It drives me nuts when someone comes along and says we need/demand more "X" people.  Well maybe they're haven't been any qualified "X" people apply for the position(s) available, and that's a different discussion.  I can't imagine any business turning away a qualified person to fill a position.


     

    I agree. Trying to fill quotas in that case seems not helpful.

  • Reply 19 of 19
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    eightzero wrote: »
    A very myopic view. Apple is all about "making great products people love." People don't love (and thus buy) products that don't fit their view of proper business conduct. While there are some interesting adjectives in her new title, in the end, she is a marketing professional.

    And telecommunication is a heavily regulated industry. 

    If anything this memo says to me Apple is going to become even more political than it already is under a Cook. I'd be very curious to know if the rest of the senior leadership team is in agreement with this. When Tim Cook published that editorial in the Washington Post neither Phil Schiller nor Eddy Cue retweeted it. In fact I don't think I've seen either of them re-tweet any of Cook's more political statements. And their tweets are are usually apolitical.
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