Katherine Adams to Become Apple's New General Counsel as Bruce Sewell Set to Retire This Year

Apple today announced that Katherine Adams will join Apple as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal and Global Security this year. She will serve as the chief lawyer of Apple's legal department and report to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

katherine adams bruce sewell

Katherine Adams, left, will replace Bruce Sewell as Apple's general counsel

Adams will replace Bruce Sewell, who has served as Apple's general counsel since 2009 and will be retiring at the end of the year.

Apple's general counsel oversees all legal matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and securities compliance, global security, and privacy, according to Sewell's executive bio.

Cook said Adams is a "seasoned leader with outstanding judgment" in her field. He also offered best wishes to Sewell.

We are thrilled to welcome Kate to our team. She's a seasoned leader with outstanding judgment and that has worked on a wide variety of legal cases globally. Throughout her career she's also been an advocate on many of the values we at Apple hold dear.

Bruce has our best wishes for his retirement, after eight years of dedicated service to Apple and a tremendously successful career. He has tirelessly defended our IP, our customers' right to privacy and our values. Bruce has set a new standard for general counsels, and I am proud to have worked with him and proud to call him a friend.

Adams said "it's an honor" to join Apple.

Apple has had a tremendous impact on the world and it's an honor to join their team. I'm excited to help Apple continue to grow and evolve around the world, protecting their ideas and IP, and defending our shared values.

Sewell said the eight years he spent working at Apple have been the "most gratifying" of his entire career.

To have worked with this amazing executive team and all the incredibly smart people at Apple, especially my colleagues in legal and global security, has been the honor of a lifetime. The years I have spent in this job have been the most gratifying of my career. I'm delighted Kate is joining and I know she will be a huge asset.

Adams was most recently senior vice president and general counsel of Honeywell, where she had worked since 2003. Prior to then, she was a partner at New York law firm Sidley Austin LLP. She has also served as a law clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court and as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sewell maintained a quiet presence until last year, when he came into the spotlight twice during Apple's separate battles with the FBI and Spotify.

Popular Stories

Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
iPod shuffle generations

Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design. In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...

Top Rated Comments

jonnysods Avatar
100 months ago
Cha ching, Kathy will be laughing all the way to the bank. I bet the job is high pressure, but man they pay you!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
100 months ago
Bruce is a smart cookie. Get out early while he's young enough to enjoy his mountains of money and free time.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friednoodles Avatar
100 months ago
Pretty sure Apple knows a lot more about who to choose for this role than any of us do. LOL.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
whyamihere Avatar
100 months ago
Fresh perspectives are great and all, but seems to me this position would be better filled from within rather than someone with no experience with Apple's IP.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Barron Avatar
100 months ago
Bruce is a smart cookie. Get out early while he's young enough to enjoy his mountains of money and free time.
As an on-air personality says, Bruce is seriously "RINGING THE REGISTER." $$$$
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macs4nw Avatar
100 months ago
Fresh perspectives are great and all, but seems to me this position would be better filled from within rather than someone with no experience with Apple's IP.
Quote: "We are thrilled to welcome Kate to our team. She's a seasoned leader with outstanding judgment and that has worked on a wide variety of legal cases globally. Throughout her career she's also been an advocate on many of the values we at Apple hold dear......Adams was most recently senior vice president and general counsel of Honeywell, where she had worked since 2003. Prior to then, she was a partner at New York law firm Sidley Austin LLP. She has also served as a law clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court and as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice".

You don't believe all that makes her very well qualified? Not doubting for a moment Tim (with the assistance of Bruce and the legal team), took a long, hard, and thorough look at all the available talent before finalizing his decision.

Additionally, Apple is probably determined not to make another 'John Browett' mistake.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)