Apple is navigating a leadership transition combining retirements and appointments as it seeks to maintain its AI edge while keeping business momentum.Lisa Jackson will retire in late January 2026, Kate Adams will retire late next year, Alan Dye is leaving to become Chief Design Officer at Meta, and John Giannandrea will retire in spring 2026; meanwhile Amar Subramanya, formerly of Microsoft, will join as Vice President of AI and Jennifer Newstead will join in January and become General Counsel on March 1, 2026, expanding the role to include legal and government affairs.The changes come amid scrutiny of Apple's AI ambitions and competition from Meta, Google and OpenAI, and analysts say the moves are critical as iPhone sales remain strong and market capitalization stays above $4 trillion; a report also says Johny Srouji is considering leaving after leading Apple silicon, and the timing has renewed debate about Tim Cook's succession even as some observers say he is not preparing to step down imminently.