Apple’s VP of talent and recruiting departing in yet another executive shakeup

It’s another day, and there’s yet another report of a departure among high-ranking Apple leadership. Today it’s Apple’s VP of talent and recruiting head Sjoerd Gehring, who is leaving for a new role at Citadel. Here’s what that means for Apple.

New departure likely tied to Apple discontinuing a key role

Just two days ago, word arrived that Apple’s first ever Chief People Officer, Carol Surface, was leaving the company after a brief 18-month run.

Today’s new Apple departure of talent VP Sjoerd Gehring is almost certainly related.

Why? Because Gehring’s new role at Citadel is that of Chief People Officer.

Mark Gurman writes at Bloomberg:

Apple Inc.’s top recruiting executive is leaving to become the chief people officer at investment firm Citadel, according to people with knowledge of the matter, marking another major departure for the iPhone maker’s tumultuous human resources team.

Sjoerd Gehring, a vice president who oversaw Apple talent management, immigration, recruiting and administration of its global HR team, is joining the Miami-based hedge fund next month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the news hasn’t been shared publicly.

Clearly, one domino falling has led to another. When Surface departed Apple, the company announced that her role would be absorbed by retail head Deirdre O’Brien.

Gehring likely would have been at the top of Apple’s list for a new Chief People Officer, but the decision to discontinue the role meant his prospects for advancement were reduced.

Apple has been experiencing an unprecedented string of executive shakeups of late, including transitions for its CFO, head of procurement, long-time hardware leader, and more.

What do you make of the recent string of Apple departures? Let us know in the comments.

For further reading:

• Apple’s first-ever ‘Chief People Officer’ departing after less than two years
• Apple’s head of procurement departing after 24 years
• Veteran Apple engineering leader Dan Riccio retiring this month
• Apple announces CFO transition coming soon, names Luca Maestri successor
• App Store VP departing Apple amid broader restructuring