Apple has named Jennifer Newstead as its next general counsel, replacing Kate Adams in the role next year.
Newstead joins from Meta where she was chief legal officer. She will arrive in January and work alongside Adams for a short transition period until officially taking over the role on 1 March. At Apple she will initially be responsible for overseeing its legal function before additionally taking over the government affairs function when Adams retires later next year.
Newstead will report directly to CEO Tim Cook and serve on its executive team.
The legal leadership transition follows a number of high-profile cases impacting Apple in recent years. Earlier this year, the UK Competition Appeal tribunal ruled that Apple had abused its dominant position over its App Store fees and “exclusionary practices”, with the tech giant potentially liable for damages of up to £1.5bn. Apple is also facing a US Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, which accuses the company of monopolising the smartphone market. Apple lost an appeal to dismiss the lawsuit in June.
Cook said: “We couldn’t be more pleased to have Jennifer join our team. She brings an extraordinary depth of experience and skill to the role, and will advance Apple’s important work all over the world.
“We are also pleased that Jennifer will be overseeing both the legal and government affairs organisations, given the increasing overlap between the work of both teams and her substantial background in international affairs. I know she will be an excellent leader going forward.”
Newstead arrives after six and a half years at Meta, having previously been a legal adviser at the US Department of State. Prior to that she spent 12 years as a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell following a series of government roles, including as GC in the Office of Management and Budget and a year in the White House as a special assistant to the president during George W. Bush’s administration.
She started her private practice career during a first spell at Davis Polk in 1997, having earlier clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and judge Laurence Silberman in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Newstead said: “I have long admired Apple’s deep focus on innovation and strong commitment to its values, its customers and to making the world a better place. I am honoured to join the company and to lead an extraordinary team who are dedicated each and every day to doing what’s in the best interest of Apple’s users.”
Adams, meanwhile, will retire next year having served as Apple’s GC since 2017.
Cook added: “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.
“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.”
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