Apple Names New M&A Chief in Latest Shake-Up Under CEO John Ternus

Apple Inc. is naming a new mergers and acquisitions chief, according to people familiar with the matter, marking the latest management change under new Chief Executive Officer John Ternus.

Adrian Perica, who has run Apple’s M&A and corporate development function for more than a decade, is being replaced by longtime lieutenant Steve Smith, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced. Perica, who has overseen the iCloud, Fitness+ and News businesses since 2023, will remain in that role, reporting to services chief Eddy Cue.

Smith will report to Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh, returning the M&A team to the finance division for the first time since 2019, when Perica became a direct report to then-Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, according to the people. Ternus replaced Cook as CEO on Sept. 1.

In another change, Apple is promoting Carson Oliver to vice president of the App Store. Oliver took charge of the business in recent months as Phil Schiller, the longtime head of the App Store and Apple events, stepped back from his day-to-day responsibilities. Oliver will continue reporting to Cue.

Apple’s services division has undergone a series of leadership changes in recent months, with Cue gaining oversight of the App Store as well as the company’s Health and Fitness teams. The moves have significantly expanded his responsibilities. Jennifer Bailey, the longtime head of Apple’s Pay and Wallet offerings, is retiring this year, though Cue has yet to name a successor to oversee the company’s critical payments business.

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An Apple spokesperson declined to comment. Bloomberg News reported on the pending Perica change in August.

Though Perica is relinquishing responsibility for M&A, the move gives him a more prominent position within Cue’s organization at a time when the services chief is assessing multiple potential successors. Many Apple employees familiar with the situation believe Perica and Oliver Schusser, the executive overseeing Apple Music, are the leading candidates to eventually replace Cue. Another possibility under discussion is splitting Cue’s responsibilities between the two executives.

At Apple, the M&A job has wide-ranging powers. Cue and Perica have worked together for years as two of the company’s chief dealmakers, overseeing acquisitions as well as major partnerships. Those included the 2024 agreement with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Apple products and the longstanding arrangement with Google to make its search engine the default on Apple devices.

Though Apple has historically avoided large acquisitions, corporate development remains vital to bringing new technologies, talent and capabilities into its products and services.

The group also helps negotiate strategic arrangements with outside companies, making it an important part of Apple’s broader business strategy. Perica has been an influential executive at the tech giant for years, playing a key role in the company’s now-defunct self-driving car project, its health initiatives and the expansion of its services business.