One of Apple’s top services executives is departing the company. Peter Stern, Apple’s vice president of Services, is reportedly telling his colleagues he plans to leave at the end of January. This will lead to a major shakeup of the team surrounding him, according to a new report from Insider.
Stern joined Apple in 2016 after serving in various senior roles at Time Warner Cable. Since joining, Stern has largely been the face of Apple’s Services business. He’s worked closely with Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services.
According to Insider, citing a two people familiar with Apple’s plans, Stern will depart at the end of this month. He’s informed colleagues that he’s “exiting Apple to spend more time on the East Coast.”
As part of his departure, the Services team will be reorganized to split Stern’s responsibilities into three separate divisions:
Apple is reorganizing its Services unit and Stern’s responsibilities will be split into three separate divisions, according to two people familiar with internal conversations at Apple. One of those executives will be Oliver Schusser, who is currently in charge of Apple Music.
Apple has not yet confirmed Stern’s departure. A report back in 2019, following the introduction of Apple services like TV+, Apple Card, and Apple Arcade, described Stern as “likable” and “very business-like, to the point, and professional.”
9to5Mac’s Take
This is a major shakeup for the Services team inside Apple. Peter Stern was widely viewed as a potential successor to Eddy Cue, and had taken on a very forward-facing role with all of Apple’s subscription services like Apple TV+ and Apple Music.
If the Insider report is correct in how it describes the reorganization taking place, it could lead to a more focused approach for each of Apple’s different services. Rather than having Stern at the helm of the entire business, splitting things into three separate divisions could ensure that each service gets more direct attention from its respective leaders.
It’s interesting, too, that one of the executives particularly called out in today’s report is Oliver Schusser, who currently serves as the vice president of Apple Music at Apple. He’s been at Apple since 2004 and helped manage the rollout of iTunes beyond the United States.
This reorganization could elevate Schusser into a higher-level role, and potentially put him in the running to eventually be Eddy Cue’s successor.
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