“Jony Ive, along with Steve Jobs, has long been regarded as part of the soul of Apple.,” Jim Lynch writes for CIO. “His contributions in terms of industrial design and software UI have had a gigantic impact on Apple’s products and the company’s bottom line. It’s not hyperbole to say that Apple would not be what it is today without him.”
“But the recent announcement about Ive being promoted to “Chief Design Officer” makes it clear to me that he is beginning to wind down his career at Apple,” Lynch writes. “The announcement strikes me as a well-oiled public relations machine laying the groundwork for Ive to retire altogether from Apple. But these things must be handled very carefully and professionally, and that is exactly what Apple is doing.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, as we wrote yesterday, 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.
Related articles:
Jony Ive is Apple’s next Steve Jobs – May 27, 2015
What Jony Ive’s ‘promotion’ really means – May 26, 2015
Now Jony Ive will have an even bigger influence over Apple’s image – May 26, 2015
Stephen Fry meets Jony Ive, Apple’s newly-promoted chief design officer – May 26, 2015
Jony Ive gives up day-to-day managerial duties to focus on big picture – May 26, 2015
Jony Ive promoted to ‘Chief Design Officer’ – May 25, 2015
Jony Ive is the most powerful person at Apple – December 12, 2014
Jony Ive hasn’t been given too much power at Apple – because he’s always had it – February 5, 2013
Steve Jobs left design chief Jonathan Ive ‘more operational power’ than anyone else at Apple – October 21, 2011
There are two actual reasons for this change:
1. It removes Ive’s from the list of executives whose compensation the SEC could conceivably force Apple to make public.
2. It removes Ive from a highly public role where he’s expected to make public appearances at events like keynote presentations, with which he’s clearly very uncomfortable. They’ve been relying on recorded speeches by Ive for years, rather than force him to speak live. This solves that problem. His direct reports will be the ones giving those presentations now.
Aside from that there’s nothing to see here. Ive’s departure is not imminent.
Removes Ive’s what?
That was an editing error, which is unfortunately not correctable on MDN. It should have read “Ive”, not “Ive’s”. The error was left over from a revision of the comment where it actually read “Ive’s compensation”. Now am I sufficiently clear to satisfy the somewhat benighted who can’t figure out what I meant to say?
The non-douches among us understood what you meant. 🙂
As for No. 1, I would say, it would be quite the opposite.
His previous title was Senior Vice-President of Design; his new one is one of the C_Os (actually, one of just three at Apple, along with Cook and Maestri). If I’m not mistaken, SEC requires C-level executive pay to be publicly disclosed. Not for others.
Depends if this C-level title requires Ive to be an executive officer or not. If he’s not an executive officer his pay doesn’t have to be disclosed.
There was some legal question whether his SVP status mandated that he be treated as an executive officer. The SEC could have pushed that interpretation. There is no question that his new C_O position as described is not an executive officer position.
Well not imminent but planned I suspect even if no end date may have been set. I suspect that the watch was his last big thing and now seems a good time to resist taking on another 5+ year commitment. He can now keep overall control but knows he has two strong figures to take increasing responsibility for projects so he can wind down, spend more time away and with family, but remain a strong influence on things untill he retires altogether from Apple or simply takes an advisory role with only occasional visits. Indeed being a little removed might make his input all the more refreshing as there are only so many years that a hands on designer can keep fresh and Jony has well exceeded that average.
I trust he can design his own career.
He better have one hell of protégé
Another piece said he is now free to ponder the blue sky. My gut says it has four wheels. They have cleared the decks for him to focus on the new team required to upend the automobile industry.
Self driving cars? Pffftttt, Jonny knows the truth, we love the freedom of the road and loathe the notion of robotic cars. His next work will be to Google’s egg what the Watch was to Glass.
^^^ Solid.
Ive’s obsession and love for cars is self proclaimed and bursting woth innovative challenge…
I gave you 5 stars. Somebody else finally gets it that most of us DO NOT WANT a self-driving car. We buy BMW, Mercedes, Corvette, Mustang, etc. precisely because we want to be in charge of the experience when on the road. Google’s self driving car already exists as a government subsidized semi-failure. It’s called AmTrak.
I am no fan of Jony Ive. He comes up with superb industrial designs, but his UI stylings are awful. I can’t wait for him to leave so that OS X can be beautiful again. Jony Ive can’t leave Apple soon enough for me.
What rubbish. Ive wants new blood being spilled on the R&D floor. Who better to oversee the new bloods than an old blood who’s been there. I do NOT see him retiring in any foreseeable future. Very silly.
And even if he does at some point in the future he would no doubt would remain in a design advisory capacity while still having his teacake and eat it too in his British homeland.
Fre for the Car
NOT.
Lucky him. Preparing for retirement at 48. Most of us will be lucky if we paid off our student loans by then. And it’s obviously so stressful doing the job you dreamed of since you were a little kid. A job one feels they were born to do… and one in which you just happen to get paid hundreds of millions of dollars. The daily grind of mansions and villas, private jets, Bentleys and caviar has worn him down and he must retire before it kills him. Poor Jony.
Before being “discovered” by Steve Jobs in the downtrodden bowels of 1997 Apple Computer, Inc., Jony was far removed from his current position. Jobs put Ive in a position to excel, and Ive made the most of that opportunity. In some ways, Apple made Ive just as much as Ive made Apple.
Only Apple executives know all of the reasons behind the recent organizational change. But I suspect that one of the major reasons was to keep Jony focused on what he does best by removing him from the day-to-day managerial duties of his previous position. It does not make sense to waste that talent on paperwork and such.
Makes sense to me, because you know, when Tim Cook was “promoted” from Senior Vice President (SVP) of Worldwide Operations to Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2007, it was obviously because he had one foot out the door and wanted to retire. /s
Where do these idiots come up with this stuff?
Why on earth would he retire now? Tim Cook just gave him a promotion and C-suite title and took away most of the managerial, paper-pushing aspects of his job. He still owns all of design but can now focus on new products and things he enjoys like being involved in Apple store and Campus 2 designs. It seems to me this promotion is all about keeping Jony from retiring, not pushing him to it.
Cars.
Why retire? Ive has hundreds of Millions of dollars.
Second reason: there is just “a little bit of pressure” because if Ive makes a mistake from the category of medium size to a huge mistake, there is hundreds of billions of shareholder equity at stake. One huge mistake in the design of the “next” iPhone and it is over. That’s pressure.
People like Ive (and Jobs) are driven by their passions. They probably enjoy the freedoms provided by significant wealth, but they would do the work anyway. That is their nature. IMO, as long as Apple continues to enable Jony to challenge and evolve his design abilities and push forward into new product territories, he will stay with Apple. The Apple Watch is a great example – how many times could Jony redesign the iPhone and remain satisfied?
Jony Ive gets promoted, new position.
1. This guy says it’s for him to retire: But the recent announcement about Ive being promoted to “Chief Design Officer” makes it clear to me that he is beginning to wind down his career at Apple
2. Another guy, Luke Dormehl says this in regards to his promotion: “That means leaving the more managerial aspects of Apple to someone else, while focusing on the future “next big thing” for the company.”
3. Seth Weintrauba is all over the board with this promotion. “We’ve known for quite some time that Ive longs to be back in his native Britain for a variety of reasons.” one of which is to make sure his kids get a real education and are exposed to culture or something.
“He’s going to work with London-based Foster and Partners on the design of the Spaceship Campus 2 project and Apple Retail Stores”. But he’s also leaving, “As sad as it is to say, this feels like Jony Ive putting one foot out the door at Apple” but he’s also staying. “Or maybe he’s going to go design the Apple Car.”
4. Eric Jackson from Forbes does a similar dance but has his own conspiracy: “I believe yesterday’s announcement was done entirely to continue to shield Jony Ive’s compensation from disclosure to the SEC and therefore from the public”
Anyone long for the days of factual reporting in the media?
This guy has another interesting take on Jony Ive’s “promotion.”
http://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2015/5/26/the-jony-ive-promotion
Thanks for that, it’s another speculative but interesting article.
Jounalists are no longer taught how to “report”, but in fairness to these clowns, Apple rarely does the obvious, obfuscates what it does, and directly lies about what it is going to do. Reporters have very little chance of determining what Apple is doing, and if they could, they would be very wealthy rather than “click whores”.
Thanks for your post. Apart from the “direct lying” concept I think it’s pretty spot on.
Insofar as the lying part, well they sometimes want to trace leaks and of course they are allowed to change their minds.
You might have something different in mind when you said that, no doubt you’ll elucidate.
Have a good one.
He’s already made a dent in the universe. At Apple, he can also be King of the World.
Whatever I’ve decides to do we can only wish him the best.
Steve Jobs picked the right people and the brand and the fans have benefitted greatly from his choices.
Obviously, he’s dying and with him, Apple.
/s
Knob.
it’s actually the opposite, everyone knew Ive wants to move to England for his kids,this new given freedom lets him work wherever whenever and still have input and full authority at AAPL and also shields his compensation, this was a very smart move by Tim to assure Johny sticks around, there comes a time in everyone’s life when money does not matter when u clearly have more than enough, so he could not be bought with money but with freedom, Ive will be a key player in AAPL future especially at a time whenever he will have a key role in the design of the automotive part.
Obviously ?
Maybe to the author..
Wouldn’t it be better to say ” i believe..” .
There is nothing obviouse there..
The only obvious thing is that he has a new title and a broader scope of responsibilities now
Designers don’t retire. Its a vocation not a 9 to 5.
As you get older you channel your concepts through others and let them sweat the small stuff. SJ had that editorial role andt Ive appears to be moving towards that role.
I’m sorry but, I kinda dislike what he’s done:
– For iOS, I would rather have better battery-life (not to mention a bit more bulk to physically hold on to) than thin-thin-thin
– For Mac OS, I try not to use Yosemite, using 10.9.5 instead… if only because 10.10 looks awful to my eye (anyway)… flat flat flat. Plus what’s needed is a stability release. For example, FIX “Mail” so it doesn’t need to be restarted constantly.
Sorry, I am tired of Mr. Ives point of view 🙁 But when I have to upgrade my 2008 Mac Pro, I will likely go with yet another Mac.