Apple’s executive shake-up continues with the departure of its general counsel and chief policy officer

Executive changes continue at Apple. Days after announcing the departure of AI chief John Giannandrea and the loss of design executive Alan Dye to Meta, the iPhone maker shared news of the retirement of two more executives.

Kate Adams, who has served as Apple’s general counsel since 2017, will retire late next year, while Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, will retire in late January 2026.

The company also announced the appointment of Jennifer Newstead, who will become its general counsel on March 1, 2026, and will report to CEO Tim Cook, following the transfer of duties from Adams.

Newstead arrives from Meta, where she was chief legal officer. Prior to that, she served as a legal advisor to the US Department of State, where she led the team advising the Secretary of State on legal issues affecting the conduct of US foreign relations.

She has also held other government positions in the past, including as general counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget, as principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, as associate counsel for the White House, and as law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cook noted that Newstead will oversee legal organizations and government affairs.

“We couldn’t be happier to have Jennifer join our team,” he said. “She brings an extraordinary depth of experience and skill to this role, and will advance Apple’s important business around the world.”

During Adams’ time at Apple, the company faced increasing antitrust regulation and lawsuits, largely focused on increasing competition in the app market.

Meanwhile, Jackson, who was previously appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency before joining Apple in 2013, has been involved in Apple’s climate initiatives, sustainability efforts, environmental impact, and DEI-focused endeavors, such as the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. Such efforts have fallen out of favor with corporate giants under the Trump administration.

“I greatly appreciate Lisa’s contributions,” Cook said in a statement. “She has been instrumental in helping us reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels.” “It has also been an important strategic partner in engaging governments around the world, advocating for the best interests of our users on a myriad of topics, as well as promoting our values, from education and accessibility to privacy and security.”

Apple has seen a number of leadership changes in recent months, having also announced the departure of Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams in July, with duties moving to Subih Khan, who previously served as senior vice president of operations. Before Giannandrea’s exit, Apple replaced him as head of the Siri team with Mike Rockwell, who had been vice president of the Vision product group.

The company also lost Ke Yang, the executive who leads Apple’s work in AI-driven web search, to Meta; It marked the departure of Ruoming Pang, Apple’s former head of AI modeling, who left for Meta earlier this year.

Leadership has changed as Apple has fallen behind in the AI ​​race, delaying the launch of its AI-powered Siri, which will now power Google Forms under the hood. Apple has also been criticized by designers for losing the keen attention to detail for which the company has long been known. This reportedly led to some celebration of Dye’s departure among Apple employees, according to a report by Daring Fireball, who expressed their excitement at having professional interface and interaction designer, Stephen Lemay, take on the role.