Phil Schiller is one of the most recognisable executives in Apple’s history. He first joined Apple in 1987 and later returned to the company in 1997, as Steve Jobs began rebuilding the business. Over the years, Schiller helped shape Apple’s product marketing and became a trusted presence at major product launches.
Schiller eventually became Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. He helped promote products that transformed Apple’s business, including the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.
However, Schiller was never meant to take Steve Jobs’ place. Instead, Schiller became an executive who was depended upon by Steve Jobs when doing presentations. This comes as a key factor, as the Apple presentations were much more than showing off a product. They were carefully constructed to show how the technology was useful to the consumer.
Schiller had the capability of articulately explaining both hardware specs and software capabilities. In 2020, Apple changed Schiller’s role. He was named Apple Fellow, while Greg Joswiak became senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. Schiller continued overseeing the App Store and Apple Events. The move marks a transition away from Schiller’s day-to-day marketing responsibilities.
Schiller is now relinquishing his leadership responsibilities for the App Store and Apple product events, according to reports. He will remain with Apple as an Apple Fellow and work on unspecified initiatives.
The App Store is moving back under Apple’s Services organisation, led by Eddy Cue. The change comes as Apple undergoes a broader leadership transition, including John Ternus taking over as CEO from Tim Cook.
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