Apple Separates Human Resources Role From Retail, Adds New Chief People Officer - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Separates Human Resources Role From Retail, Adds New Chief People Officer

Apple is hiring Carol Surface as its new chief people officer, with Surface set to report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook, reports Bloomberg. Apple head of retail Deirdre O'Brien had been handling the "people" role, but Apple has now made a dedicated hire and has removed the duties from O'Brien.

apple employees trio
While O'Brien will continue to be Apple's retail chief, Surface will lead the People team, which is known as Human Resources at most companies. That team at Apple is designed to help Apple connect with and care for its employees, handling talent development, recruiting, employee relations, benefits, compensation, inclusion and diversity, Apple University, and more.

Apple is hiring Surface from Medtronic, where she currently serves as Chief Human Resources Officer. She has been with Medtronic for over nine years, and also worked at Best Buy and Pepsi. Surface is set to start at Apple in March.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

duo aquarium

More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try

Friday November 6, 2026 3:27 pm PST by
When the iPhone Duo launched, we shared a list of some of the fun apps developers created for the new form factor. Two weeks out, developers are continuing to come up with fresh ideas, so we thought we'd share some of our favorites. Games Marbles Unhinged ($2.99) - Marbles Unhinged is a marble maze designed for the Duo. When you fold it, the floor turns into a ramp. If you stand the top...
apple pro tell logo

Apple Launching Five New Products Today

Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models. The following new products will be available from today: iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip iMac with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
iOS 28 AI

Apple Taking New Approach to Developing iOS 28 and macOS 28

Sunday November 8, 2026 7:42 am PST by
Apple has made a change to its development process for iOS 28, macOS 28, and corresponding software updates, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, he said Apple separates development of each year's new operating systems into three major stages. Typically, he said each stage consists of four weeks of coding followed by a four-week "convergence" period where...

Top Rated Comments

49 months ago
In response, Microsoft has hired Carl iPad as Head of Persons.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
49 months ago

We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
Within 5 years, the term "People" will probably be offensive to some folks lol.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
49 months ago

Nope. It's racist to use the word if it's not related to indigenous groups - English has other perfectly good words to use. Derogatory is in the eye of the beholders too. In this case, it's low key appropriation. Chief isn't meant to be used in a business sense - it has a reeeeeal specific meaning to the people the word was taken from. And when I say 'taken', I mean 'murdered'. This is why it's just the done thing now not to use the language. Apple are dumb.
Very sad to see comments like this. Is this some sort of knee jerk response?
1) This is not a Native American word. So far as I know it has not even been adopted widely into Native American languages. The word has etymology in Latin and French and had been in use in the English language for at least 200 years before English speakers arrived in the americas.

2) You know there is a related adverb as well, "chiefly"- how does that fit into your linguistic view?

3) If anything, it could be racist to use it /IN/ a Native American contexts. For instance, it would be wildly inappropriate to call a Native American person you just met (or even knew well) "Hey, Chief..." Just as it would be very suspicious to say "hey, Jew" or "hey Sheik" - It's not necessary (to call out one's ethnicity or culture) and it would be hard to envision a context in which that conveyed positive intentions. But at the same time, if Native American communities accept the use of the word "Chief" to describe tribal leaders, then that is an appropriate English word to use in that specific context.

4) It is without a doubt ok and advisable to continue to use the English word "chief" within all the original and ongoing definitions and meanings of the word- Such as in "Chief of Operations at...", or "CEO", or even "OK Chief" (to a boss figure). This has nothing to do with anything Native American or any ethnicity.

Ultimately, I really don't understand these lazy attacks on language. While many, many words can be used in a way that is intended to be purposefully hurtful or derogatory, far fewer are inherently so. It is really important to understand the etymology and all modern use cases of specific language. I consider myself very liberal minded, and I find this /specific/ type of "wokeness" really troubling. There are so many things (which often take real effort) that we could be doing to improve societal or systemic issues related to racial bias, and socio-economic disparities, but we have people who pat themselves on the back for things like "banning" non derogatory words. It creates distracting noise and a false sense of participation on the issues at hand- all energy and effort which could instead be doing actual good. I have a friend who tried to tell me the word "master" was banned. It's wild. Of course we shouldn't use that word in context of a "master-slave relationship", but this friend, whom I still love, really thought we could no longer say someone was a "master painter" or had "mastered a skill" or label a "master hard drive" in context of multiple copies- it is misguided and destructive and distracting. Look at all the time I wasted writing this thing -which I think should be pretty common sense! I could have been doing something much more useful and progressive with this time spent!

g\
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
49 months ago
We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
49 months ago

We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
My 16th cousin is native american. This offends me.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Attirex Avatar
49 months ago
aka union buster!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Apple Store Subscription Sign-Up Controversy Exposed
Apple Store Subscription Sign-Up Controversy Exposed
2 hours ago
Siri AI Rumored to Become 'More Like an Agent' as Early as Next Year
Siri AI Rumored to Become 'More Like an Agent' as Early as Next Year
12 hours ago
Apple Taking New Approach to Developing iOS 28 and macOS 28
Apple Taking New Approach to Developing iOS 28 and macOS 28
14 hours ago
Early Apple Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and More
Early Apple Black Friday Deals on Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and More
1 day ago
'Backglow' Lets You Customize New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
'Backglow' Lets You Customize New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
1 day ago
Top Stories: Apple Product Launches, iOS 27.3 Beta, and More
Top Stories: Apple Product Launches, iOS 27.3 Beta, and More
2 days ago
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
More Fun iPhone Duo Apps: 30 New Picks to Try
2 days ago
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
Hands-On With Apple's New OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro
2 days ago
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
Apple Store With All-New Design Opening Soon in Southern California
2 days ago
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
Control the Glowing Apple Logo on Your New MacBook Pro
2 days ago
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
Apple Shares New 'Apple Card: Apply and Use in Minutes' Ad
3 days ago
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
Apple Says More Than 100,000 Apps Optimized for iPhone Duo, Here's What's Still Missing
3 days ago
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
3 days ago
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
The MacRumors Show: iOS 27.3 Looks Like a Huge Update
3 days ago
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
Best Buy's Black Friday Event Begins With Sitewide Savings on Apple, TVs, More
3 days ago
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
Apple Releasing Yet Another Two New Products Next Week
3 days ago
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
MacBook Air Drops to Lowest Price in Months With Amazon's $250 Discount
3 days ago
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
Apple Rumored to Drop the iPhone's Action Button Next Year
3 days ago
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
Apple's Extended Return Policy Now in Effect for 2026 Holiday Season
3 days ago
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
Apple Music Classical Updated With New Icon and Refreshed Design
3 days ago
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
OLED iPad Mini, M6 iMac, and New MacBook Pros Available From Today
3 days ago
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
Apple Surveys iPhone Duo Buyers About Crease and Camera
3 days ago
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
Apple's First Touchscreen Mac is Now Arriving to Customers
3 days ago
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
Claude Gets Personal Finance Feature With Bank Account Linking
3 days ago
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
Apple Arcade Adds Crossy Road Rush and NBA 2K27
3 days ago
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
Apple's New HomeView Smart Home Hub: Here's How Much RAM It Has
3 days ago
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
iPad Mini vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Now Just $50 Apart
3 days ago
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
3 days ago
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
Apple Announces a New Mac Sales Record
3 days ago
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
Paid $200 for Logic Pro? Apple Says You Won't Get This New Feature
4 days ago