Apple is currently facing an exodus of key executives. And the situation can get even worse with Johny Srouji, SVP of hardware technologies, reportedly “considering leaving in the near future.”
Srouji leads Apple’s internal custom chip design team, the group behind Apple silicon, the Neural Engine, and several of the company’s other in-house chips.
Apple’s silicon genius may walk away
Earlier this month, Meta poached Apple’s UI design chief, Alan Dye — the mind behind Liquid Glass. This follows the retirement of AI chief John Giannandrea and COO Jeff Williams.
Amidst all this, a Bloomberg report citing internal sources says Johny Srouji recently informed Cook that he is “seriously considering leaving in the near future.”
Apparently, Cook has been trying to retain him by offering a substantial pay package and more responsibility in the future. One scenario even considered making him Apple’s Chief Technology Officer. That would make him the second-most powerful executive at the company.
Srouji’s departure would be a big blow to Apple. He has been instrumental in Apple’s successful transition from Intel to Apple silicon chips. He also led the development of the A-series chips that power every iPhone. Even Apple’s in-house C1 modem and the N1 wireless chip were built under his leadership.
Apple is going through a major leadership shuffle
Apparently, Srouji will remain at Apple for the time being. But that could change next year, once again putting the company at serious risk of losing one of its most influential leaders to a rival. His departure would only deepen Apple’s ongoing struggle to retain key talent in a competitive AI and silicon market.
This year, Apple has lost several long-time executives and talented engineers to rival companies.
The lead designer of the iPhone Air left to join an AI startup. Likewise, more than a dozen AI researchers have departed for Meta over the past year.
There are even rumors that CEO Tim Cook will retire in 2026.
More departures are on the way, with a number of senior leaders set to retire soon.
That includes Kate Williams, Apple’s general counsel, and Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, both of whom will retire next month.
Rajesh has been closely following and writing about the latest happenings in the world of mobile for nearly a decade now. While he prefers Android, he does not deny the superiority of Apple’s products and ecosystem.
