Apple appears to have hired Levi Strauss senior VP for unknown retail position

According to his LinkedIn profile and Facebook page, Atienza, who also goes by the name Quique, is now working at "Apple Retail" in an undisclosed role.

Atienza's profile still lists his current job as Levi Strauss Senior Vice President Retail Americas and Global Store Operations and Training COE, a position he took in July 2012 after serving as VP of Retail and Operations for two years. However, Levi's spokeswoman Rebecca Youngs confirmed that the executive is no longer with the company. She had no information as to Atienza's current employment situation. Prior to his time at Levi's, Atienza spent almost two years as VP of Store Operations at the Disney Store.

Apple is in the midst of finding a replacement for John Browett, who was taken on to fill the shoes of former retail chief Ron Johnson in 2012. Browett was fired only ten months later after a rash of complaints from Apple Store staff led to questions on the executive's plans for the business.

When Browett was ousted, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he would take reins of retail operations until a suitable replacement was found. The vacated position still remains unfilled.