Hiring

CEO of indoor positioning startup Wifarer has joined Apple ahead of iOS 8 Maps push

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

According to an exclusive TechCrunch report Thursday, Philip Stanger, the CEO and co-founder of indoor positioning startup Wifarer, has joined Apple's Maps team ahead of the anticipated push to improve the company's in-house mapping software in time for the assumed launch of iOS 8 this Fall.

He's now with the Apple Maps team in a “leadership role,” the publication has learned though the report cautions that Apple did not acquire the startup as some sources have speculated.

Wifarer, which is available as an iOS and Android app, features dynamic real-time indoor positioning to help people navigate malls, museums and other venues. Apple of course has its own micro-location indoor positioning system in the form of iBeacons.

Watchers have speculated that these micro-transmitters installed in shopping malls, retail stores, airports and elsewhere could also be used to collect data to improve Apple Maps and Stanger's hiring certainly seems to point in that direction...

Angela Ahrendts to join Apple as retail chief next week

Cody Lee ∙ April 23, 2014

During this afternoon's quarterly earnings call, Tim Cook announced that Angela Ahrendts will be officially joining Apple next week. The announcement was made last October, but Ahrendts has been under contract with her previous job—CEO of luxury clothing company Burberry—until now.

Ahrendts will join Apple as the Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores, a position that has seen significant turnover in recent years. In 2011, Ron Johnson left for a CEO position at JC Penney, and his replacement, John Browett, was ousted in less than a year due to a conflict in strategy...

Apple makes another high-profile medical device talent hire

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 7, 2017

Apple has added another prominent expert in the medial devices field to its internal team thought to have been tasked with the creation of an Apple-branded wearable device that the press refers to as the iWatch.

Divya Nag, “a rising star in the medical device community,”, has joined Apple's in-house medical technology team, according to sources with knowledge of the hire who spoke to one Apple blog on the condition of anonymity because Apple is not fond of leaks...

Apple’s incoming SVP of Retail can leave Burberry this month, but may stay until June for bonus

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Angela Ahrendts, Apple's incoming SVP of Retail, may not be in her new position as quickly as once thought.

The Guardian first noted that Ahrendts can leave her gig as the CEO of Burberry during April, but may stay for a bit longer to collect an £8 million share bonus that will be awarded from the fashion giant in June.

Apple looking to beef up its iTunes team amid ‘overhaul’ rumors

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

According to recent reports, Apple is looking at various ways to remedy declining music sales, and better combat the competition. Billboard says the company is considering everything from launching an on-demand streaming music service, to giving its iTunes Store a dramatic overhaul.

And it certainly appears Apple is working on something big in regards to the media manager. A number of iTunes team-job listings have popped up on its website this week calling for iTunes Software Engineers, Senior Software Engineers, and an iTunes Recommendation Platform engineer...

Apple poaches VP of Amazon A9′s Search Technology group

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple has made another high-profile hire, having poached Benoit Dupin, Vice President of Amazon A9′s Search Technology group, according to the executive's professional business profile on LinkedIn.

Benoit, who brings over fifteen years of international technology industry experience within a wide range of disciplines, has left Amazon to help Apple improve search features in its own mapping service, sources speculated on Tuesday.

He isn't the first Amazon executive to have left for 1 Infinite Loop. Back in October 2012, Apple hired away another prominent Amazon search technologist, William Stasior, who is now working with the Siri team...

Swiss watchmakers complain about Apple courting their talents

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 28, 2014

Earlier this month, we relayed reports asserting Apple may be looking to build its rumored wearable project, dubbed iWatch, in Switzerland. The iPhone maker reportedly created a company in the country for this purpose, prompting watchers to speculate that the iWatch could potentially carry the ‘Swiss Made’ label.

Sources claimed Apple had approached some of the world’s finest watchsmiths and attempted to poach talents employed by such watchmaking groups as LVMH.

The Financial Times is now corroborating these reports in a story Friday, writing that Apple's been courting high-level executives and craftsmen at Swiss watch brands to help build the iWatch, in one instance even attempting to recruit a horologists directly.

However, Swiss watchmakers have apparently rejected the possible iWatch project collaboration as they reportedly have no time to enter into any kind of partnership agreement with any of Silicon Valley's technology giants...

BlackBerry sues SVP of software to stay after being hired away by Apple

Cody Lee ∙ March 26, 2014

You don't hear this everyday: BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit against its own SVP of software following his letter of resignation in December of last year. The company claims that Sebastien Marineau-Mes's attempt to leave for a new 'VP of Core OS' position at Apple was a violation of his employment contract.

According to a ruling from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Marineau-Mes is being sued over the breach of contract terms that stipulated he must provide at least six months notice before leaving BlackBerry. So since he submitted his resignation in December, the court says he must stay through June...

Apple looking to add acquisition analysts to its M&A team

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2014

Apple is looking to boost its Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) team by hiring acquisition integration analysts, giving us a vague indication that a more diligent strategy to snapping up other companies could be in the cards for the Cupertino firm.

The new job position was posted earlier today on Apple’s job listings website and reported on by Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac. A listing for Acquisition Integration Analyst reveals that Apple is looking for an M&A expert to assist in its acquisitions, by working with the company's HR, Legal, IS&T, Real Estate, Operations, Finance and Tax departments...

WSJ: Apple hiring engineers from HTC and other Asian firms to speed up product launches

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 5, 2018

Unlike the specs-obsessed technology industry which has always been dependent on frequent product refreshes, Apple continues to traditionally update its iPhone annually. Now, some industry peers - such as Sony - warned that the company may be "missing out" by not updating the iPhone twice per year.

Playing on this sentiment, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is now adding "hundreds of new engineers" and supply-chain managers in China and Taiwan. The company is hiring away these people from various tech firms, including rival HTC, reportedly in order to speed up product development and launch a wider range of devices...

iOS jailbreak hacker Winocm joining Apple later this year

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 21, 2014

Another famous hacker is joining the ranks at Apple. Following in the footsteps of jailbreak community members Comex, and Peter Hajas, jailbreak developer Winocm announced this afternoon on Twitter that he would be joining Apple.

It's still unclear as to what capacity he'll be joining Apple, but if the past is any indication, it's probably for an internship—Just like Hajas, and Comex a.k.a. Nicholas Allegra. I've reached out to Winocm for a comment, but he declined to elaborate. It looks like he's already getting used to the Apple culture...

New job listings call for Apple TV content partner and software engineers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

While it seems like everyone is focused on Apple's rumored iWatch, and the various features it could offer, the company is believed to be quietly working on another major project: a TV device. Not the television set we used to hear rumors about, but a new set-top box.

Adding to recent reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal regarding the project are a pair of job listings recently discovered on Apple's website. They call for a Content Partner Engineer and Software QA Engineer—both of which will work on the Apple TV team...