Who is Phil Schiller? Apple veteran steps down from running App Store and product events

Phil Schiller, a long-time leader at Apple who worked closely with Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, has stepped down from overseeing the App Store and Apple's product launch events, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, Schiller relinquished these two major responsibilities but will remain at the company as an "Apple Fellow". He told employees he would work on unnamed projects, though many believe this marks a step toward eventual retirement.

This change comes just ahead of John Ternus taking over as the new chief executive officer on 1 September. Cook, who became the boss in 2011 and led Apple for 15 years, will move into the executive chairman role.

Phil Schiller's career at Apple

At 66, Schiller is one of the most recognized executives in Apple's history. He helped introduce many of the company's biggest products and was senior vice president of marketing until 2020.

He was a key decision-maker on devices such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac computers, and worked alongside Jobs to create the App Store.

In recent years, Schiller oversaw a platform generating over $30 billion annually. He decided whether to approve or reject controversial apps and managed relationships with developers.

He also led efforts to implement new App Store rules in response to lawsuits and government regulations. He handled Apple's high-profile dispute with Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, over in-app payments.

Phil Schiller's responsibilities reassigned

Schiller's former duties are now being redistributed. According to Bloomberg, oversight of the App Store returns to the services division led by Eddy Cue, who managed it until 2015. Day-to-day operations will be handled by Carson Oliver, who will report directly to Cue. Oliver previously shared responsibilities with Ann Thai, who managed app tools. Thai will now report to Oliver. Alex Rofman, head of Apple Arcade, will also report to Oliver.

Even after leaving his marketing role in 2020, Schiller continued to lead Apple's product launch events. That responsibility now passes to Nola Weinstein, his assistant since 2023.

Weinstein will report to Kristin Huguet Quayle, Vice President of Communications, whose department managed events until 2019.

Schiller's move highlights one of the biggest tests for Ternus as the new CEO.

He has to deal with many of Apple's older leaders leaving. Leaders like Jeff Williams, Dan Riccio, Luca Maestri and Lisa Jackson stepped down or took smaller jobs. Apple’s past general counsel and the head of Apple Pay are also leaving in October.