Apple (AAPL) made changes to its executive ranks again this week, as the company said on Thursday that its long-time general counsel and head of environmental policy will depart the iPhone maker.
Kate Adams, who had been Apple’s general counsel since 2017, will be replaced by Jennifer Newstead, who will take over the job on March 1. Newstead, who was most recently chief legal officer at Meta (META) and previously served as the legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State, will report directly to CEO Tim Cook and serve on its executive team.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to have Jennifer join our team,” said Cook in a statement. “She brings an extraordinary depth of experience and skill to the role, and will advance Apple’s important work all over the world. We are also pleased that Jennifer will be overseeing both the Legal and Government Affairs organizations, given the increasing overlap between the work of both teams and her substantial background in international affairs. I know she will be an excellent leader going forward.”
“I have long admired Apple’s deep focus on innovation and strong commitment to its values, its customers, and to making the world a better place,” Newstead added. “I am honored to join the company and to lead an extraordinary team who are dedicated each and every day to doing what’s in the best interest of Apple’s users.”
Lisa Jackson, who was Apple’s vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, will retire in late January 2026. The Government Affairs organization will transition to Adams, until her retirement. It will then be led by Newstead.
“I am deeply appreciative of Lisa’s contributions,” Cook added. “She has been instrumental in helping us reduce our global greenhouse emissions by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels. She has also been a critical strategic partner in engaging governments around the world, advocating for the best interests of our users on a myriad of topics, as well as advancing our values, from education and accessibility to privacy and security.”
Prior to joining Apple in 2013, Jackson was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama.
Earlier this week, Apple announced that John Giannandrea, senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, would step down from his position and will serve as an advisor to the company before retiring in the spring of 2026. He will be replaced by artificial intelligence researcher Amar Subramanya, who will join Apple from Microsoft (MSFT).
On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company had hired Alan Dye, who served as the head of Apple’s user interface design team for a decade, in a new role as chief design officer. He will be replaced at Apple with Steve Lemay.