Apple executive shuffle continues with Lisa Jackson and Kate Adams retiring

Both Lisa Jackson, VP for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, and Kate Adams, Apple's general counsel, will retire in 2026, with roles moving to Jennifer Newstead in the new SVP General Counsel and Government Affairs role.

It's been a busy week for Apple executive moves. First, it was revealed that John Giannandrea is retiring, then Alan Dye is moving to Meta and taking his core design team with him.

Now, Apple has shared that general counsel Kate Adams and VP for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson are both retiring in 2026. The transition will result in a new role called SVP of General Counsel and Government Affairs under Jennifer Newstead.

Adams will transition general counsel duties to Newstead on March 1, 2026. Newstead will be joining the executive team and reporting to CEO Tim Cook starting in January.

"Kate has been an integral part of the company for the better part of a decade, having provided critical advice while always advocating on behalf of our customers' right to privacy and protecting Apple's right to innovate," said Cook in a press release. "I am incredibly grateful to her for the leadership she has provided, for her remarkable determination across a myriad of highly complex issues, and above all, for her thoughtfulness, her deeply strategic mind, and her sound counsel."

Jackson's role is being broken up and shared between two executives as she is retiring in January 2026. The Government Affairs organization will transition to Adams in the meantime, then that team will be passed to Newstead upon Adams' retirement in March.

The Environment and Social Initiatives teams that were under Jackson will now report to COO Sabih Khan.

"I am deeply appreciative of Lisa's contributions. She has been instrumental in helping us reduce our global greenhouse emissions by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels," Cook said of Jackson. "She has also been a critical strategic partner in engaging governments around the world, advocating for the best interests of our users on a myriad of topics, as well as advancing our values, from education and accessibility to privacy and security."

Newstead is joining Apple from Meta, where she was chief legal officer. Previously, she served as the legal advisor of the U.S. Department of State from 2018 to 2019.