Another Bite Leaves the Old Apple Core

katiecotton-100266921-largeThe central core of Apple executives has mostly remained intact since Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1996. But Katie Cotton, senior vice president for worldwide communications, announced yesterday she is retiring after 18 years.

Unlike figures such as marketing chief Phil Schiller, design guru Jony Ive, and (until becoming CEO) COO Tim Cook, Cotton has maintained a low public profile. But on the relatively frequent public events in Jobs’s career, Cotton was rarely far from his side and she has remained close to Cook.

By all reports, Cotton’s role has been a quiet but influential one, especially in the Jobs era. She’ll be missed.

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Steve Wildstrom

Steve Wildstrom is veteran technology reporter, writer, and analyst based in the Washington, D.C. area. He created and wrote BusinessWeek’s Technology & You column for 15 years. Since leaving BusinessWeek in the fall of 2009, he has written his own blog, Wildstrom on Tech and has contributed to corporate blogs, including those of Cisco and AMD and also consults for major technology companies.

13 thoughts on “Another Bite Leaves the Old Apple Core”

  2. Not to detract from all the other talented people at Apple, but the way we think about Apple today was shaped largely by Katie, working behind the scenes. And by the way, it’s especially great to see your byline again.

    Reply

  3. Good to have you back. Along somewhat similar lines, hopefully Katie hasn’t had to leave due to health reasons. Her sterling work at Apple contributed immeasurably to it’s success and making it one of the world’s most important entities.

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    1. “hopefully Katie hasn’t had to leave due to health reasons.” It’s not. It’s a legitimate “wanting to spend more time with family”. Katie had twins a few years ago and simply wants to spend more time with them. Nothing more than that.

      Reply

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