“Apple Senior Vice President Tony Fadell, the [so-called] father of the iPod and one of the driving forces behind the iPhone, could receive a payout valued at nearly $9 million (a $300,000 salary and 77,500 shares valued at $8.4 million) for acting as a senior advisor to Apple CEO Steve Jobs,” Steven Burke writes for CRN.
“The payout is part of a complicated settlement agreement that prevents Fadell from suing Apple or soliciting Apple employees for one year after he leaves the company,” Burke writes. “The agreement, which was disclosed in an Apple Securities and Exchange Commission filing, ties Fadell to Apple until March 24, 2010.”
Burke gives five reasons Apple agreed to the big payout to Fadell:
1. It Prevents Fadell From Bringing An iPod Killer To Market In Near Term
2. It Prevents A Messy, Drawn Out, Bitter Legal Battle
3. The Payout Keeps Fadell From Poaching Apple Developers
4. It Keeps Fadell Pushing Big Product Development Advances At Apple
5. It Keeps Steve Jobs At The Center Of The Apple Universe
Full article, complete with rampant speculation, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Maybe Tony found himself on the wrong elevator at the wrong time with the wrong answer. Or maybe he really does just want to devote more time to his young family.
I think the reason for the swap is pretty clear. Apple really wanted Papermaster in Fadell’s spot. Fadell is a good guy, so Apple didn’t want to punish him. Ergo, the elaborate plan to be good to Fadell while replacing him with Papermaster.
“Want to spend more time with my family” is always a fake, generic answer.