Longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller is stepping down from his role as the head of the App Store and Apple events, according to a report from Bloomberg. Following the change, Schiller will keep his Apple Fellow title and continue “working on unspecified initiatives,” Bloomberg reports.
Schiller initially joined Apple in 1987 and became the company’s head of marketing in 1997. He helped launch the App Store alongside Steve Jobs in 2008, but only started heading up the store in 2015. Over the years, Schiller has played a role in the development of many of Apple’s products, including the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Macs, and has presented several of them at the company’s launch events. In recent years, Schiller has started stepping away from some of these responsibilities, as he relinquished his role as senior vice president of marketing to Greg Joswiak in 2020.
The news comes just one day before hardware leader John Ternus is set to take over for Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is stepping down on September 1st. As reported by Bloomberg, Apple is moving the App Store division under services head Eddy Cue, while Carson Oliver will continue to lead the store with the help of Ann Thai, who is in charge of app distribution tools and third-party marketplaces.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to The Verge ’s request for comment.
Along with heading up the App Store, which facilitated more than $1.4 trillion in transactions last year, Schiller has had to contend with legal battles and government regulations that have forced Apple to change its stringent policies surrounding app distribution and payments.
Schiller’s departure is part of a broader executive exodus at Apple, which could prove to be one of Ternus’ biggest hurdles as he takes over as CEO. Former chief financial officer Luca Maestri stepped down from his role in January 2025, followed by the departure of Apple COO Jeff Williams, design chief Alan Dye, and AI head John Giannandrea. Lisa Jackson, Apple’s environmental and policy lead, also retired last year, while Apple will replace general counsel Kate Adams with former Meta chief legal officer Jennifer Newstead.
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