Following the news that Jony Ive is leaving Apple this year, Apple has also announced that Sabih Khan has been named to its executive team. Khan will serve as Apple’s senior vice president of operations.
In a press release, Apple said that Khan will be in charge of its global supply chain:
Khan will report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. Williams says that Khan is the most talented operations executive on the planet:
The news comes following Apple’s announcement that Jony Ive will depart Apple this year to form his own design company, LoveFrom. While Apple will be a client of LoveFrom, Ive will not be an Apple employee.
Williams will oversee Apple’s design team following the change, hence why Khan is being promoted to a bigger operations role and likely taking some of Williams’ responsibilities. “Williams has led the development of Apple Watch since its inception and will spend more of his time working with the design team in their studio,” Apple says.
Apple’s full press release is below:
Cupertino, California — Apple today announced that Sabih Khan, a 24-year Apple veteran, has been named to the company’s executive team as senior vice president of Operations. Khan has played an important role in delivering each of Apple’s innovative products to market since the late 1990s, leading key product operations and supply chain functions. He continues to report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer.
In his new role, Khan will be in charge of Apple’s global supply chain, ensuring product quality and overseeing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and product fulfillment functions, as well as Apple’s supplier responsibility programs that protect and educate workers at production facilities around the world.
“Sabih leads our Ops team with heart,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “He and his entire worldwide team are committed to delivering unmatched experiences to our customers, treating workers everywhere with dignity and respect, and protecting the environment for future generations.”
“I’ve been privileged to work with Sabih for more than 20 years, and you won’t find a more talented operations executive anywhere on the planet,” said Williams. “He is a world-class leader and collaborator, and I have no doubt that he will be the best leader of the Ops team in Apple’s history.”
The Operations team is responsible for driving scale across the global supply chain and accelerating manufacturing innovation, including developing and scaling a new aluminum alloy that enables the use of 100 percent recycled aluminum in MacBook Air and Mac mini enclosures without compromising quality. The team also supports Apple’s environmental initiatives by partnering with suppliers to propel green manufacturing, helping conserve resources and protect the planet.
Before joining Apple’s procurement group in 1995, Khan worked as an applications development engineer and key account technical leader at GE Plastics. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
