Apple today has announced that its general counsel and SVP Bruce Sewell will be retiring at the end of the year and that Katherine Adams will be stepping into the role.
In a press release, Apple shared the news that Sewell would be retiring after working at Apple in his current role since 2009. Tim Cook shared the following about Sewell’s exit.
As for Sewell’s replacement, Katherine Adams comes to Apple after serving as general counsel and SVP at Honeywell since 2003. She shared excitement about her move to Apple.
Cook shared similar sentiment and mentioned that Adams and Apple have many shared values.
One interesting tidbit is that Honeywell sued Nest back in 2012 over patent infringements for its learning thermostat. iPod father Tony Fadell painted “Honeywell as ‘worse than a troll’ when the suit was first raised, calling the patents the company invoked ‘hopelessly invalid,’ and arguing that the company was using old patents to stifle innovation in the thermostat market.”
No doubt Adams will have her work cut out for her with Apple’s ongoing legal battle with Quallcomm and the company’s appeal with the European Commission over its tax practices in Ireland.
As for Sewell, he shared that working at Apple was the “honor of a lifetime” and that he’s happy and confident to see Adams fill his role.
