“A lot of folks are taking Sir Jonathan Ive’s just announced title of as Chief Design Officer at face value. Congratulations are in order and all that. But there is a lot more going on than a title change,” Seth Weintraub writes for 9to5Mac. “There is clearly more to the story than Apple is telling us.”
Weintraub writes, “In an important 2011 profile, the The Sunday Times noted that Ive longed to be back in the UK and almost left Apple that year before he was given a huge payout by Apple to stay on longer.”
He and wife Heather, who met while they were studying at Newcastle Polytechnic, are said to want to educate their twins in England. He still visits the institution in the north-east to give masterclasses, giving up part of his three weeks’ annual leave. A friend of the family told The Sunday Times: “Unfortunately he is just too valuable to Apple and they told him in no uncertain terms that if he headed back to England he would not be able to sustain his position with them.” — Maurice Chittenden and Sean O’Driscoll, The Sunday Times, February 27, 2011
Weintraub writes, “Ive gets two subordinates to run his two incredibly important programs then gets to spend a reasonable amount of time in the UK with his kids who then aren’t forced to grow up talking like Americans and pronouncing ‘aluminum’ like animals.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, this frees Jony.
Again, this is how Apple eases the pressure on Jony while addressing one of their most pressing problems since Steve Jobs was CEO: Succession. Jony Ive is the most important person at Apple. The addition of Marc Newson to Apple’s payroll, in whatever capacity, was one answer to the question. This is the next.
Hopefully, Jony is happy with the new arrangement and continues to have a major hand in Apple’s design direction.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Bill” for the heads up.]