Just days after the resignation of its Chief Human Resources Officer—a prominent figure in the field—Apple is now dealing with another significant departure, that of Sjoerd Gehring, the company’s top recruitment executive.
Musical Chairs at Apple Park
Sjoerd Gehring has indeed decided to switch paths and move to the investment firm Citadel. This news comes just days after the departure of Carol Surface, Apple’s global CHRO.
According to internal sources and Bloomberg, Sjoerd will leave Apple in November. He will be replacing Matt Jahansouz, who left in September. While Cupertino has not confirmed this news, Citadel has been more forthcoming. The firm’s COO, Gerald Beeson, reportedly told employees, Sjoerd will lead our efforts to attract the top candidates from around the world and help them build extraordinary careers at Citadel that match their merit and ambition
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Carol Surface, on the other hand, is leaving the California-based company after a relatively short tenure of less than two years. Given her impressive resume, her departure is quite unusual for an executive of her level at the company.
Previously, she held a similar position at Medtronic for over nine years, with prior stints at Best Buy and Pepsi. In October 2022, she was named the world’s best Chief Human Resources Officer for the year 2022 by N2 Growth, a global consulting firm specializing in research and leadership. She was hired by Apple in February 2023.
Is Apple Becoming Unmanageable Internally?
In recent years, there have been an increasing number of staff movements within Apple Park and growing social challenges within the company. This management responsibility fell to Deirdre O’Brien, who holds the expansive role of SVP Retail + People (she will likely take over these duties…).
The key question is whether the two executives were able to make headway on pressing issues, such as finding lasting solutions to the numerous social movements that emerged with COVID: AppleToo, remote work, wage demands, or the rise of unionization.
Indeed, since the pandemic, the California-based firm was no longer as exemplary as before! Many criticized its managerial practices and numerous departures. It was no longer considered one of the best companies to work for, although it had topped this ranking for a very long time.