The man who headed Apple’s communications for the last five years, Steve Dowling, is leaving after 16 years with the company.
Dowling previously was Apple’s head of corporate public relations for 10 years. During his tenure, the tech giant has dealt with everything from Tim Cook’s first years as CEO after the death of its iconic founder to a bevy of new product rollouts to a fight with the US government over encryption.
According to a memo he sent this week to staff, Dowling wrote, “it’s time.” He added that he plans to take time off and is apparently not moving to another job at another company. Dowling will stay at Apple until the end of October.
“After 16 years at Apple, countless keynotes, product launches and the occasional PR crisis, I’ve decided that the time is right for me to step away from our remarkable company,” wrote Dowling. “This is something that has been on my mind for a while, and it came into sharp focus during the latest — and for me, last — launch cycle. Your plans are set and the team is executing brilliantly as ever. So, it’s time.”
MacDailyNews Take: Good luck in your future endeavors, Steve!
Read the Dowling’s entire memo and Apple’s statement in the full article here.
So this is the guy that didn’t tell you your iPhone was being throttled.
Sounds like he has his feet on the ground, a nice understated and straight forward message especially from someone skilled in a job in having to manipulate the company message so often.