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

Apple TV Sans Remote Feature

New Apple TV 4K Leaked

Friday September 25, 2026 8:16 am PDT by
MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris has uncovered an image file from Apple for an unreleased Apple TV 4K, suggesting that a new model will finally be released soon. The image is specifically for an "Apple TV 4K (4th generation)" model. Apple TV 4K (4th generation) image (on a gradient) The image reveals that the Apple TV will have the same external design as the current model, with all of its...
m5 pro macbook pro launch day

Amazon Just Knocked $900 Off Apple's Latest 16-Inch MacBook Pro

Sunday September 27, 2026 8:30 am PDT by
Amazon has introduced a major discount on the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max chip, 32-Core GPU, 36GB RAM, and 2TB SSD, now available for $3,499.00, down from $4,399.00. This is a massive $900 markdown on the high-end MacBook Pro, and it's joining a few other MacBook Pro discounts on Amazon this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a...
iPhone Duo Open

iPhone Duo Reportedly Facing Production Problems Ahead of Launch

Tuesday September 29, 2026 6:16 am PDT by
The iPhone Duo is reportedly facing production difficulties ahead of its October launch, with early output expected to be limited. A person said to be close to Foxconn's supply chain told China's Jiemian News that final assembly yields for Apple's first foldable iPhone were only slightly above 60% as of September 17. The source said that, under Apple's current quality standards, it could...

Top Rated Comments

48 months ago
In response, Microsoft has hired Carl iPad as Head of Persons.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
48 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)
48 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)
48 months ago
We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
48 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
48 months ago
aka union buster!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
DoorDash Unveils AI Food Ordering Through Apple's Messages App
DoorDash Unveils AI Food Ordering Through Apple's Messages App
11 minutes ago
Amazon Takes Up to $150 Off Select M5 MacBook Air Models
Amazon Takes Up to $150 Off Select M5 MacBook Air Models
22 minutes ago
Apple Still Plans to Release a New Full-Sized HomePod
Apple Still Plans to Release a New Full-Sized HomePod
2 hours ago
Apple Working to Expand HomeKit
Apple Working to Expand HomeKit
3 hours ago
Apple Smart Home Hub to Feature iMac G4-Style Design
Apple Smart Home Hub to Feature iMac G4-Style Design
3 hours ago
Three New Apple Smart Home Products Coming on October 13
Three New Apple Smart Home Products Coming on October 13
4 hours ago
Apple Pay Now Available in India With Axis Bank Cards
Apple Pay Now Available in India With Axis Bank Cards
15 hours ago
OpenAI Launches Always-On 'Dots' Agents to Rival Meta's Muse
OpenAI Launches Always-On 'Dots' Agents to Rival Meta's Muse
16 hours ago
AirPods 5 Teardown: Batteries Removable, Case Still Tough
AirPods 5 Teardown: Batteries Removable, Case Still Tough
17 hours ago
iPhone 18 Pro Owners Complain of Speaker Crackling or Popping
iPhone 18 Pro Owners Complain of Speaker Crackling or Popping
18 hours ago
You Can 'Get Ready' for iPhone Duo Pre-Orders on October 12
You Can 'Get Ready' for iPhone Duo Pre-Orders on October 12
18 hours ago
Apple Pay Reportedly Launching in India Today
Apple Pay Reportedly Launching in India Today
19 hours ago
Apple Releases New AirPods Beta Firmware
Apple Releases New AirPods Beta Firmware
20 hours ago
Apple Shares New Guide for Using iOS 27 Parental Controls
Apple Shares New Guide for Using iOS 27 Parental Controls
20 hours ago
Apple Creator Studio and Final Cut Camera Get New Features
Apple Creator Studio and Final Cut Camera Get New Features
21 hours ago
Apple Explains Why It Removed ICE Tracking Apps Last Year
Apple Explains Why It Removed ICE Tracking Apps Last Year
21 hours ago
Amazon Expands $779.99 Apple Watch Ultra 4 Deal to More Models
Amazon Expands $779.99 Apple Watch Ultra 4 Deal to More Models
21 hours ago
Switch Siri AI for ChatGPT on Your Mac
Switch Siri AI for ChatGPT on Your Mac
21 hours ago
Apple Says Emergency SOS via Satellite Now Available in Norway
Apple Says Emergency SOS via Satellite Now Available in Norway
22 hours ago
AppleCare Guide: Is it Worth Paying For?
AppleCare Guide: Is it Worth Paying For?
22 hours ago
Apple Reportedly Planned to Replace 5,000 Support Employees With AI
Apple Reportedly Planned to Replace 5,000 Support Employees With AI
22 hours ago
Apple Planning to Launch Products Faster and More Often
Apple Planning to Launch Products Faster and More Often
23 hours ago
Amazon Discounting New Mac Mini and Mac Studio Alongside Early Prime Day Deals on Monitors
Amazon Discounting New Mac Mini and Mac Studio Alongside Early Prime Day Deals on Monitors
1 day ago
New Apple TV 4K Hinted at in Support Document
New Apple TV 4K Hinted at in Support Document
1 day ago
iPhone Duo Reportedly Facing Production Problems Ahead of Launch
iPhone Duo Reportedly Facing Production Problems Ahead of Launch
1 day ago
Here's Why iPhone Apps Were Crashing
Here's Why iPhone Apps Were Crashing
1 day ago
iPhone Duo Gets a Virtual Walkman App Ahead of Launch
iPhone Duo Gets a Virtual Walkman App Ahead of Launch
1 day ago
iPhone Duo StandBy Leak Reveals Five Unannounced Faces
iPhone Duo StandBy Leak Reveals Five Unannounced Faces
2 days ago
Apple Releases watchOS 27.0.1 for Additional Models
Apple Releases watchOS 27.0.1 for Additional Models
2 days ago
iPhone 18 Pro First Impressions: What Do You Think So Far?
iPhone 18 Pro First Impressions: What Do You Think So Far?
2 days ago

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors