Apple’s leadership shakeup continues. Apple has announced that two more executives are departing the company: Katherine Adams, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and Lisa Jackson, vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.
Apple announced the news in a press release today. Lisa Jackson is set to retire late January 2026, while Kate Adams will retire in late 2026.
Jennifer Newstead is joining Apple and will become Apple’s general counsel on March 1, 2026. Newstead is a veteran attorney who previously served as the legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State and most recently as Meta’s chief legal officer.
As part of these transitions, Apple says:
- Lisa Jackson’s Government Affairs organization will transition to Adams, who will oversee that team until she retires in late 2026. Then, Newstead will take over that team and become senior vice president, General Counsel and Government Affairs.
- The Environment and Social Initiatives teams will report to Apple chief operating officer Sabih Khan.
Here’s Tim Cook on these changes:
“Kate has been an integral part of the company for the better part of a decade, having provided critical advice while always advocating on behalf of our customers’ right to privacy and protecting Apple’s right to innovate,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “I am incredibly grateful to her for the leadership she has provided, for her remarkable determination across a myriad of highly complex issues, and above all, for her thoughtfulness, her deeply strategic mind, and her sound counsel.”
“I am deeply appreciative of Lisa’s contributions. She has been instrumental in helping us reduce our global greenhouse emissions by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels,” said Cook. “She has also been a critical strategic partner in engaging governments around the world, advocating for the best interests of our users on a myriad of topics, as well as advancing our values, from education and accessibility to privacy and security.”
The retirements of Adams and Jackson are just the latest high-level departures at Apple. On Monday, Apple announced that John Giannandrea, Senior Vice President for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is stepping down from his position and will officially retire in spring of 2026. Yesterday, Apple confirmed the departure of Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design since 2015. Dye is departing to lead a new design studio at Meta.
Other recent departures include COO Jeff Williams, who retired last month, as well as CFO Luca Maestri. The Tim Cook era at Apple might also come to an end as soon as next year.
Read the full announcement on Apple’s website.
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