Jony Ive Is Leaving Apple, but His Departure Started Long Ago
Design chief helped create some of the world’s best-known products, but grew distant as the company shifted focus under CEO Tim Cook
Mr. Cook, an industrial engineer who made his name perfecting Apple’s supply chain, sought to keep Mr. Ive happy over the years, in part with a pay package that far exceeds that of other top Apple executives, a point of friction with others on the executive team, people familiar with the matter say. Apple doesn’t disclose Mr. Ive’s pay. But people in the design studio rarely saw Mr. Cook, who they say showed little interest in the product development process—a fact that dispirited Mr. Ive.
.. Mr. Ive and Mr. Jobs often ate together, feeding off each other’s ideas. Mr. Ive could translate futuristic concepts into physical objects with simplicity and sophistication. Mr. Jobs was the inspiration and the editor needed to bring these ideas to life.
“Creative geniuses like Steve and Jony speak a mutual language, and they understand each other well,” said Millard Drexler, the former J.Crew Group Inc. CEO who served on Apple’s board from 1999 to 2015 and is now an investor and adviser to Alex Mill, a retail startup. “There was an enormous challenge that anyone would have had following Steve Jobs into that position.”