If you’re looking for a clear voice on what Chief Design Officer Jony Ive leaving Apple means for the company, don’t look to current employees. Almost as many of them think the change will be good as think it will hurt the iPhone maker.
Still, a large majority are confident that Apple will remain a strong company without him.
In a survey of current Apple employees carried out by Teamblind, 26% of respondents said Ive’s decision to start his own independent design firm will have a negative effect on Apple.
But 22.1% of respondents feel this change in Apple’s design team will actually bring benefits. And 51.9% think Ive’s leaving the company will have no impact on the company’s future.
When asked “Can Apple continue to be a tech product design leader without Jony Ive?”, 76% of employees said it could. Of course, most of those were people who’d said the departure would have either a positive effect or no impact on the company.
An Apple executive reshuffling
After decades with Apple, Ive announced last month that he’s leaving, though he’ll continue to do consulting work.
Evans Hankey, the new VP of Industrial Design, will take charge of Ive’s famous Industrial Design team that created the look of the iMac, iPhone and so many other products.
Alan Dye, VP of Human Interface Design, will be in charge of crafting the design of iOS, macOS, and Apple’s other software. Previously, Ive held this role too.
Hankey and Ive will report to Jeff Williams as Chief Operating Officer, who will himself report to CEO Tim Cook.
