Technology giant Apple on Monday appointed Kevan Parekh as its chief financial officer, replacing senior company official Luca Maestri, who will step down from the position on January 1, 2025.
The change in leadership comes ahead of a slew of product launches by Apple this fall, including what analysts have called the biggest software upgrades to the iPhone.
It includes artificial intelligence features, which are important for Apple as it seeks to reverse a slowdown in global sales, particularly in China, and better compete with rivals that have rolled out AI upgrades.
Parekh, who has been with Apple for more than a decade and will join the company’s executive committee, most recently served as vice president of financial planning and analysis.
“It appears the transition to a new CFO is planned and orderly, which is the most important question. Maestri remaining at Apple is also very important, as it removes the risk of financial questions,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson.
“(Parekh) will continue to exercise prudent capital management, but may also be tasked with resuming the search for complementary acquisitions for Apple.”
Prior to Apple, Parekh held senior leadership positions at Thomson Reuters and General Motors.
Apple said Maestri will continue to lead corporate services teams, including information systems and technology, information security, and real estate and development, and will report to CEO Tim Cook.
During Maestri’s tenure, Apple’s revenue more than doubled, and services revenue grew more than fivefold.
“Apple’s appointment of an internal candidate to the position will make this transition somewhat easier… Any change of this magnitude creates some degree of uncertainty, particularly given Maestro’s history of continuity and implementation,” Piper Sandler analysts said in a note.
Earlier this month, Apple said its iPhone sales in the third quarter were better than expected and forecast further profit as it bets on artificial intelligence to attract buyers, though its overall business in China disappointed.
In recent years, iPhone sales have slowed due to a lack of significant upgrades in new models and competition from Android-based smartphone brands that offer high-end specifications at lower prices.
At its developers conference in June, Apple announced several AI features under “Apple Intelligence,” including new Siri and Chat integration with GPT.
Shares of the iPhone maker were down about 1% in last trading.
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