Three Apple PR specialists leave company for new jobs at Ford, Tesla
Amid rumors that Apple is reining in an ambitious automotive project from a full-fledged car to supporting software and hardware systems, three public relations team members, including a director of corporate communications, have left the company for carmakers Ford and Tesla.
As noted by The Verge on Friday, former PR specialist Sarah O'Brien was first to leave Apple in September for a job at Tesla.
O'Brien started at Apple in 2008, handling music for the Europe, Middle East, India and Africa region before moving to iPhone relations in 2012. She most recently concentrated on Apple Watch just prior to taking the position of senior director of communications at Tesla.
Ford will also benefit from an infusion of Apple talent. Former Apple senior director of corporate communications Colin Smith, who led PR initiatives involving Mac hardware, macOS, Swift, iWork and pro apps, in November started a new gig as head of communications at Ford's Silicon Valley outpost.
According to The Verge, Smith's role at Ford will involve both communications and business development. He worked at Apple for seven years prior to this month's departure.
Finally, former Apple global PR staff member Michaela Johndrow is leaving the company after a five-year stint to handle communications related to electric vehicles at Ford's head office in Michigan.
The PR departures come on the heels of reports claiming Apple is rethinking plans to enter the automotive industry.
Rumors of Apple's secret initiative to field a self-driving electric car surfaced last year under the codename "Project Titan." AppleInsider later uncovered evidence that an automotive research and development program was underway at a secret facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Subsequent reports claimed "Apple Car" would be ready to ship by 2020, but that launch date was ultimately proven overly optimistic when the project ran into roadblocks late last year. In January, it was reported that former project lead Steve Zadesky left the company, prompting Apple to bring product engineering guru Bob Mansfield out of pseudo-retirement to head up operations.
Most recently, Apple fired dozens of employees as Project Titan pivots away from a full-fledged self-driving car toward the development of underlying technology.
As noted by The Verge on Friday, former PR specialist Sarah O'Brien was first to leave Apple in September for a job at Tesla.
O'Brien started at Apple in 2008, handling music for the Europe, Middle East, India and Africa region before moving to iPhone relations in 2012. She most recently concentrated on Apple Watch just prior to taking the position of senior director of communications at Tesla.
Ford will also benefit from an infusion of Apple talent. Former Apple senior director of corporate communications Colin Smith, who led PR initiatives involving Mac hardware, macOS, Swift, iWork and pro apps, in November started a new gig as head of communications at Ford's Silicon Valley outpost.
According to The Verge, Smith's role at Ford will involve both communications and business development. He worked at Apple for seven years prior to this month's departure.
Finally, former Apple global PR staff member Michaela Johndrow is leaving the company after a five-year stint to handle communications related to electric vehicles at Ford's head office in Michigan.
The PR departures come on the heels of reports claiming Apple is rethinking plans to enter the automotive industry.
Rumors of Apple's secret initiative to field a self-driving electric car surfaced last year under the codename "Project Titan." AppleInsider later uncovered evidence that an automotive research and development program was underway at a secret facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Subsequent reports claimed "Apple Car" would be ready to ship by 2020, but that launch date was ultimately proven overly optimistic when the project ran into roadblocks late last year. In January, it was reported that former project lead Steve Zadesky left the company, prompting Apple to bring product engineering guru Bob Mansfield out of pseudo-retirement to head up operations.
Most recently, Apple fired dozens of employees as Project Titan pivots away from a full-fledged self-driving car toward the development of underlying technology.
Comments
People can justify that particular item anyway they like to coincide with their views, but can't much argue the fact that it sends a contradictory signal to the general public.
i dont know what your day job is, but i know it's not running the biggest and most successful publicly traded company in history (or likely any company) -- so please, don't quit it.
nonsense. they're are two very different tools, form factors, and use cases, with likewise different constraints and compromises.
trust me when i say -- designing things isn't a job for you.
It's not just Apple. Kenmore is doing the same kind of thing. My new fridge came with an ice maker, but they claim the washing machine doesn't need one. What kind of message are they trying to send to buyers?
I'm NOT defending Apple here, partly because I have plenty of complaints about Apple myself so I don't begrudge anyone else theirs, but also partly because I don't see what there is to defend here. They're two completely different products for completely different uses and form factors. I think Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone was a mistake, but don't see how the existence of such a jack on the Mac is relevant to that issue.
Better bookmark this thread, so you can come up with something to say that doesn't contradict your statements in it, or else you might end up doing an "Apple".