Facebook Hires Former Apple Maps Manager Richard Williamson - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Facebook Hires Former Apple Maps Manager Richard Williamson

by

facebook.jpgFormer Apple employee Richard Williamson has been hired by Facebook, reports Bloomberg. Williamson, who was in charge of Apple's iOS mapping team, was fired in November after Apple Maps faced extensive criticism for its poor performance.

Williamson joined Facebook in the past couple of weeks to be a manager within its expanding mobile-software group, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Facebook has acquired several other Apple employees in an effort to improve and expand on its iOS app, which was updated today to add the Chat Heads feature.

Other former Apple employees brought in by Zuckerberg include Greg Novick, a former iPhone manager who helped develop the device’s touch interface; Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris, software designers who joined when Facebook acquired their company Push Pop Press; and software engineers Scott Goodson, Tim Omernick and Chris Tremblay.

Facebook has also reportedly hired former Twitter employee Loren Brichter, who designed Twitter's original iPhone app and popular word game Letterpress. Brichter is a former member of Scott Forstall's iPhone team.

Top Rated Comments

tevion5 Avatar
171 months ago
...and together they shall write the worst software the world has ever seen! Mmwwwohahahaha!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
171 months ago
Sadly he only lasted a day.

They told him to go to Mark Zuckerberg's office for a meeting, and he ended up in Oakland.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tigertazz Avatar
171 months ago
Facebook maps! See the world through people's faces
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
171 months ago
Facebook is such a joke these days...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carlanga Avatar
171 months ago
Facebook maps! See the world through the wrong people's faces

Fixed that for you :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sayer Avatar
171 months ago
And anyone else curious about what is Scott Forstall doing?

Plotting his revenge in his secret lair under a volcano somewhere in the Pacific?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Apple Card Promo to Offer Free AirPods Pro 3

Friday May 15, 2026 8:59 am PDT by
Starting as early as next week, customers who sign up for an Apple Card at Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will receive $249 cash back when they purchase AirPods Pro 3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The promotion has yet to be officially announced by Apple, so exact terms and conditions are not available at this time. AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 in the U.S., so customers who...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 CarPlay Light mode 250609

Six Popular iPhone Apps Now Available on CarPlay

Thursday May 14, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack. Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay. ChatGPT Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based...
ipad mini 7 blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Thursday May 14, 2026 5:08 am PDT by
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code...