Apple hires Stella Low as vice president of worldwide corporate communications

As VP of corporate communications, Low will answer directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook. She will take on a role that has been unfilled since October 2019, when previous public relations chief Steve Dowling departed the company.

"Stella brings her remarkable experience and leadership to Apple's world-class communications teams. Apple has an important story to tell — from the transformative products and services we make, to the positive impacts we have on our communities and the world — and Stella is a great leader to help us write the next chapter," Apple wrote in a statement to BuzzFeed News confirming Low's hiring.

Low is a technology industry veteran. She was previously the communications chief at networking giant Cisco. Prior to that, she served as senior vice president of communications at Unisys and Dell.

The executive's hiring will take some pressure off of Apple Fellow Phil Schiller, who has been running the Cupertino company's public relations department since Dowling left in 2019.

Low's hiring comes at a pivotal time for Apple, which is currently locked in a legal battle with Epic Games over App Store antitrust allegations.

In addition, recent Apple privacy changes has brought the company into a dustup with Facebook, which takes exception to a feature that requires apps to get permission from users before tracking them.