Apple sees top exec exits from online retail store, IT divisions: Report

Apple's top executives in charge of its online retail store and information-systems divisions are reportedly stepping down. Anna Matthiasson, the company’s vice president of online retail is stepping down from her position. Chief Information Officer (CIO) Mary Demby, meanwhile, is retiring after three decades, According to a report on Bloomberg, which quoted anonymous sources.  

The company has seen some of the top executives leaving the tech giants retail business in recent weeks. Evans Hankey, Apple’s vice president in charge of industrial design is also leaving the company, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. Hankey was named to the post in 2019 to replace Jony Ive, the company’s iconic design chief for two decades. Before taking her current role as vice president of industrial design, Hankey spent several years at Apple reporting to Ive.   

Further in August this year, chief privacy officer Jane Horvath, has departed Apple taking a position at Los Angeles-based law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.   

The online store became a key sales channel for Apple during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the company has spent the last several years unifying its policies and marketing across both its digital and physical storefronts. Apple redesigned its online store in 2021. The division will now be overseen by Karen Rasmussen, who served as a senior director in charge of digital experience and e-commerce before her current role.  

Demby’s department handles the technical infrastructure behind Apple’s online services, manufacturing and website and the company refers to the operation as Apple’s “nerve centre,” which allows employees to connect with one another, as well as suppliers and customers. The division reports up to Luca Maestri, the chief financial officer.  

It’s unclear who will succeed Demby. The company hired David Smoley as a vice president on her team in 2019. He was earlier the CIO for pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca. Meanwhile, Matthiasson, who previously worked as an operations executive at Apple, was in her role for about three years.  

The job running Apple’s online store has been a revolving door for several years. The original head of the business, Jennifer Bailey, left that role in 2014 to launch Apple Pay. She now oversees that feature alongside Apple Wallet, the Apple Card and other consumer financial services. Her replacement, Bob Kupbens, left after two years for EBay Inc. His successor lasted a few years and was replaced by Matthiasson.  

Apple’s App Store revenue declined about 5% in September, the steepest drop since the bank started modeling the data in 2015, according to a Morgan Stanley report published in CNBC on October 3. The report said, the drop was mainly due to a dip in the gaming revenue, which was down 14% in September, as customers may be spending less due to economic concerns. Morgan Stanley analysts also expect to see a drop to the tune of 9-10% in sales on Google Play, the primary Android app store. In the third quarter of 2022, gross app revenue in the Google Play store amounted to around $10.4 billion worldwide, a decrease compared to the previous quarter.