Chief People Officer leaves Apple after short 20 month tenure

Carol Surface joined Apple in early 2023 as the new Chief People Officer, but she is set to depart the role after less than two years on the job.

Chief People Officer is a role that was created by taking the human resources department originally under Deirdre O'Brien and forming its own unit. O'Brien had been senior vice president of People and Retail since 2019 until the role split.

According to report from Bloomberg, Carol Surface is departing Apple and the responsibilities Chief People Officer will once again fall under Deirdre O'Brien. The reason for the quick turnaround in the position is unknown.

Apple has seen several significant executive departures in recent years as long-time employees reach retirement. CFO Luca Maestri departs at the end of 2024, and Dan Riccio will soon retire as well.

While retiring after over 20 years at Apple is one thing, leaving after 20 months is another. Apple could have realized it didn't need the position, or Surface could be leaving for better prospects — there's no way of knowing without an official statement.

12 Comments

mikethemartian 1485 comments · 18 Years

About 4 weeks ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcIMIyQnOso

DAalseth 3025 comments · 6 Years

Ngl, I always found the title Chief People Officer more than a little off-putting. She was in charge of Human Resources. No matter how you sugar coat it, that’s what that position was. Giving the job a cute, new agey name just struck me as weird, as trying too hard.

designguybrown 43 comments · 14 Years

It's a computer science/ engineering/ hyper-tech firm filled with Lone Wolfs, narcissists, and the support/ managerial staff which herd and wrangle them. Being in HR or 'People' Manager must be one of the most difficult and unfulfilling jobs in such as an environment. What you do? Mother them? Let them fend for themselves? They are anti-thetical to community and forced socialization. An effective organizational chart for such places has yet to be designed.

jdw 1440 comments · 18 Years

DAalseth said:

Ngl, I always found the title Chief People Officer more than a little off-putting. She was in charge of Human Resources. No matter how you sugar coat it, that’s what that position was. Giving the job a cute, new agey name just struck me as weird, as trying too hard.

I clicked Like on your post because until you told me in plain speech what that title actually is, I really wouldn't have known.

We all know what "Human Resources" (aka HR) is about. But Chief People Officer is a head scratcher!

At the end of the day, I guess she left because she wasn't a people person after all. :-)

But in the greater scheme of things, does it really matter?

Wesley Hilliard 259 comments · 4 Years

jdw said:

DAalseth said:

Ngl, I always found the title Chief People Officer more than a little off-putting. She was in charge of Human Resources. No matter how you sugar coat it, that’s what that position was. Giving the job a cute, new agey name just struck me as weird, as trying too hard.

I clicked Like on your post because until you told me in plain speech what that title actually is, I really wouldn't have known.

We all know what "Human Resources" (aka HR) is about. But Chief People Officer is a head scratcher!

At the end of the day, I guess she left because she wasn't a people person after all. :-)

But in the greater scheme of things, does it really matter?

Second paragraph my dude lmao
> "Chief People Officer is a role that was created by taking the human resources department"

But to be fair it is a role much larger than just HR. She also managed projects like recruiting for Apple's college programs and such. She reported directly to Tim Cook. It is curious that she left, but not entirely crazy. Apple is a tough company and outsiders tend to not do well in those executive positions. Most of Apple's Leadership page are people that rose through the ranks over decades, not outside hires like Surface.