Apple has handed its mergers and acquisitions division to company veteran Steve Smith, shaking up a leadership structure that CEO John Ternus has been steadily reshaping since taking the helm. The move relocates M&A oversight back under the finance umbrella after years of operating as a direct report to the chief executive.
Bloomberg first reported the transition. Smith now leads corporate development, a team responsible not only for acquisitions but for high-stakes partnerships such as Apple’s arrangement with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Siri.
Adrian Perica, who previously ran M&A, shifts his focus entirely to services. He will continue overseeing iCloud, Fitness+, and Apple News, responsibilities he has held since 2023. Perica now reports to Eddy Cue, the executive in charge of the App Store and Apple’s broader services portfolio.
Meanwhile, Smith reports to CFO Kevan Parekh. That reporting line signals Apple’s intent to treat dealmaking as a financial discipline rather than an extension of the CEO’s office.
The reorganization reaches beyond acquisitions. Carson Oliver earned a promotion to vice president of the App Store, formalizing a role he has effectively filled since Phil Schiller stepped down in late August. Oliver also reports to Cue.
Cue’s expanding portfolio now includes the App Store, Apple Music, and the services Perica manages. As a result, succession planning has intensified. Bloomberg reports that Cue is evaluating potential replacements for his own role, with Perica emerging as a leading candidate. Oliver Schusser, who runs Apple Music, also remains in contention.
Ternus has moved quickly to restructure Apple’s executive ranks since replacing Tim Cook on September 1. The latest changes suggest a deliberate push to streamline decision-making while positioning trusted lieutenants for larger roles across the company’s most profitable divisions.
