Apple reshuffles senior ranks, appoints Steve Smith as new M&A chief

Apple announced a series of executive changes as part of CEO John Ternus' ongoing reorganization. Adrian Perica, who has led corporate development and M&A for more than a decade, will relinquish the M&A portfolio and shift to supervising iCloud, Fitness+ and News under services chief Eddy Cue. Steve Smith, an experienced member of the M&A team, assumes the chief M&A position and will report to CFO Kevan Parekh, restoring the finance-centric reporting line last used in 2019.

Additionally, Carson Oliver has been elevated to vice president of the App Store, continuing to report to Cue. The moves place Perica and Oliver Schusser, who runs Apple Music, as leading candidates to eventually replace Cue, with a possible split of Cue's duties under discussion. These changes occur as Apple seeks new revenue streams while its services growth slows and it explores AI-driven efficiencies.