Apple names veteran Steve Smith as new M&A chief

Apple has named veteran Steve Smith as the new head of its mergers and acquisitions department, replacing Adrian Perica who led the team for more than a decade, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. This appointment comes as part of a series of management changes under Apple's new Chief Executive Officer, John Ternus, who took over from former CEO Tim Cook on September 1st.

Smith, who was once a senior official under Perica, will now report to the company's Chief Financial Officer, Kevan Parekh. This decision brings the M&A team back under the finance division for the first time since 2019, when Perica started reporting directly to Cook. Perica continues to oversee iCloud, Fitness+, and News businesses, which he has managed since 2023, and will report to services chief Eddy Cue.

Furthermore, Apple has promoted Carson Oliver to the role of vice president of the App Store. Oliver took on this responsibility recently, as Phil Schiller, who had been head of the App Store and Apple events for years, reduced his day-to-day involvement. Oliver will also report to Cue. The services division at Apple has experienced numerous leadership changes in recent months, with Cue now taking charge of the App Store and the company's Health and Fitness teams.

Jennifer Bailey, who has been in charge of Apple's Pay and Wallet services, is retiring this year. Cue has yet to appoint a replacement for the payments business.