Less than a week ago, Apple followed the lead of several other tech companies by releasing statistics on the ethnic and gender diversity of its workforce.
The stats were strikingly similar to those reported by other tech companies, with very closely aligned percentages showcasing mostly male, mostly white workforces.
In quick fashion Apple seems to be taking action, announcing five new vice presidents, two of whom are women.
As covered by Tech Times, Apple CEO Tim Cook, like most of the other tech company leaders who spoke on their diversity or lack thereof, had promised changes to level some playing fields once the statistics were released.
"As CEO, I'm not satisfied with the numbers on this page (referring to statistics published on the website). They're not new to us, and we've been working hard for quite some time to improve them. We are making progress, and we're committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products," Cook wrote on Apple's website.
Just to be clear, the five additions to the executive leadership page are not new hires, and only two of them were hired by Cook. All of them, however, report directly to Cook.
Both females VPs are African-American, and the remaining three new leaders are white males.
The five newest leaders to have joined the 10 current leaders on the big cigar page are:
- Paul Deneve, VP, Special Projects -- After having been with Apple for seven years in the '90s, Deneve re-joined Apple in 2013 after stints with Saint Laurent Paris and other fashion industry companies. It is believed he was brought back to Apple to work on the design of the rumored iWatch.
- Lisa Jackson, VP, Environmental Initiatives -- She oversees Apple's efforts to minimize its impact on the environment by addressing renewable energy, energy efficiency, the use of green materials and resource conservation. She served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2009-2013.
- Joel Podolny, VP, Dean, Apple University -- He joined Apple in 2008, after serving for three years as dean and professor at the Yale School of Management. Apple University is the company's in-house training and development program for Apple employees.
- Johny Srouji, VP, Hardware Technologies -- He is responsible for oversight and delivery of breakthrough custom silicon and hardware technologies including processors, sensors, and chipsets.
- Denise Young Smith, VP, Worldwide Human Resources -- She is responsible for attracting and retaining top talent at Apple, and has been with the company in human resource roles since 1997.
