AppleInsider Staff
Friday marks the last day of work for Apple's longtime PR chief Katie Cotton. After spending 18 years in Cupertino, much of it as a handler for late cofounder Steve Jobs, the company's vice president of worldwide corporate communications will step down to spend more time with her family.
In an essay covering Cotton's career at Apple, Re/code's Kara Swisher revealed that the PR guru will be heading for the door after the workday is over. Cotton's retirement was announced earlier in May, though at the time a definitive exit date had not been set.
Cotton was a polarizing figure for the media due to her aggressive protection of Apple and tight control over what information. Some had taken to calling her derogatory names, though Swisher notes PR heads at most other big-name tech firms are cut from the same cloth.
As one of the most powerful executives at Apple, Cotton kept somewhat of a low profile. Her behind-the-scenes influence was unquestionable, however, as seen by her handling of Jobs' long-term illness and other controversies like the stock backdating scandal.
Her operating style of being tight-lipped and selective in what statements were issued proved impressively effective, with journalists clamoring to get any scrap of information from Apple as other companies pushed regular press releases. Cotton created a demand for Apple news and tantalized reporters with very little supply.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling, who announced Cotton's departure, is thought to be in the running to replace the PR chief. Another candidate is Natalie Kerris. Both Dowling and Kerris have been with Apple for over ten years.
Cotton said the decision to leave was "hard," saying Apple was "a part of (her) heart," but in the end she chose to spend more time with her children.
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146 Comments
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Good riddance, part of the Steve Jobs era that really deserves to be shown the door and handed her hat. She has been an unabashed, unapologetic and [B][SIZE=4][COLOR=red]crushingly unconvincing liar[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] on behalf of the company (primarily for Steve). She fulfilled an important role in the company at the time, although she largely fell silent about a year before Steve's passing, probably because no one sane would believe what she uttered, like the "Steve is out with a virus" B.S. which because increasingly shrill and ludicrous. But hey, high tech public relations is one of the most soulless careers on the planet, it's rather surprising that anyone can survive nearly two decades in such a soul-sucking role. Hopefully there's something still left in her heart. I sincerely wish her the best of luck on her future endeavors. For everyone's sake, let's hope it has nothing to do with public relations.
This thread will be worth a return visit just for the responses.
Good riddance, part of the Steve Jobs era that really deserves to be shown the door and handed her hat.
She has been an unabashed, unapologetic and crushingly unconvincing liar on behalf of the company (primarily for Steve).
She fulfilled an important role in the company at the time, although she largely fell silent about a year before Steve's passing, probably because no one sane would believe what she uttered (like the "Steve is out with a virus" B.S.).
But hey, high tech corporate P.R. is one of the most soulless careers on the planet, it's rather surprising that anyone can survive nearly two decades in such a role.
Best of luck to her on her future endeavors.
Personally & financially I'm very thankful for the Steve years myself! PR is PR, its part of the game, pre-dating capitalism probably
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