An American multinational technology company, Apple has named Carol Surface as Chief People Officer. She is Apple’s first-ever Chief People Officer.
Carol Surface has been named to the new role and will be taking over the human resources duties from Deirdre O’Brien, who will continue in her role as head of retail.
Apple is removing the responsibilities for human resources from Deirdre O’Brien and allowing her to focus full-time on retail. Deirdre O’Brien was previously the SVP of both Retail and People.
O’Brien was initially promoted to VP of People in 2017 after previously serving as the company’s vice president of worldwide sales and operations. She added retail to her responsibilities in 2019 after Angela Ahrendts departed Apple.
With her extensive experience, Carol will be responsible for overseeing the company’s workforce of over 164,000 employees globally. She will directly report to Cook from March.
“Carol brings an incredible depth of experience, which will be invaluable in supporting our teams around the world and building on everything that makes Apple so special,” the company said in a statement.
“As we expand Apple Retail to reach more customers, Deirdre O’Brien will continue to lead the business with the same excellence and care that has helped our teams do their best work and deliver unparalleled customer service”, the statement added.
Carol Surface will join the company after nearly a decade at the medical device company Medtronic as an executive vice president in charge of human resources.
Previously, she spent over three years at Best Buy as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Earlier, she spent over a decade in human resources and personnel at PepsiCo.
She holds Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from Central Michigan University. She completed her Bachelor of arts in psychology from Castleton University.
