Apple Separates Human Resources Role From Retail, Adds New Chief People Officer - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Separates Human Resources Role From Retail, Adds New Chief People Officer

Apple is hiring Carol Surface as its new chief people officer, with Surface set to report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook, reports Bloomberg. Apple head of retail Deirdre O'Brien had been handling the "people" role, but Apple has now made a dedicated hire and has removed the duties from O'Brien.

apple employees trio
While O'Brien will continue to be Apple's retail chief, Surface will lead the People team, which is known as Human Resources at most companies. That team at Apple is designed to help Apple connect with and care for its employees, handling talent development, recruiting, employee relations, benefits, compensation, inclusion and diversity, Apple University, and more.

Apple is hiring Surface from Medtronic, where she currently serves as Chief Human Resources Officer. She has been with Medtronic for over nine years, and also worked at Best Buy and Pepsi. Surface is set to start at Apple in March.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display family lineup feature

Apple Announces OLED MacBook Pro With Touch Display

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new high-end MacBook Pro, which is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. The new device has a PROLED XDR display that supports touch gestures, and a glowing rear Apple logo. Pricing on the MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch model. Apple says the MacBook Pro has the "world's best display in a pro laptop." The PROLED...
iPad mini OLED feature 1

Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display

Thursday October 29, 2026 1:47 pm PDT by
While the new iPad mini has an OLED display, the device does not support ProMotion, meaning the display's refresh rate is limited to 60Hz instead of 120Hz. ProMotion support would have allowed for the iPad mini's refresh rate to automatically adjust from 10Hz to 120Hz depending on the content being displayed, but evidently Apple has kept the feature exclusive to the iPad Pro among iPad...
apple pro tell logo

Apple Opened Pre-Orders for Five New Products This Week

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:49 am PDT by
Apple opened pre-orders for five new products on Wednesday, October 28, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models. Pre-orders opened for the following new products: iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip iMac with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen Pre-orders for the iPad mini,...

Top Rated Comments

49 months ago
In response, Microsoft has hired Carl iPad as Head of Persons.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
49 months ago

We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
Within 5 years, the term "People" will probably be offensive to some folks lol.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
49 months ago

Nope. It's racist to use the word if it's not related to indigenous groups - English has other perfectly good words to use. Derogatory is in the eye of the beholders too. In this case, it's low key appropriation. Chief isn't meant to be used in a business sense - it has a reeeeeal specific meaning to the people the word was taken from. And when I say 'taken', I mean 'murdered'. This is why it's just the done thing now not to use the language. Apple are dumb.
Very sad to see comments like this. Is this some sort of knee jerk response?
1) This is not a Native American word. So far as I know it has not even been adopted widely into Native American languages. The word has etymology in Latin and French and had been in use in the English language for at least 200 years before English speakers arrived in the americas.

2) You know there is a related adverb as well, "chiefly"- how does that fit into your linguistic view?

3) If anything, it could be racist to use it /IN/ a Native American contexts. For instance, it would be wildly inappropriate to call a Native American person you just met (or even knew well) "Hey, Chief..." Just as it would be very suspicious to say "hey, Jew" or "hey Sheik" - It's not necessary (to call out one's ethnicity or culture) and it would be hard to envision a context in which that conveyed positive intentions. But at the same time, if Native American communities accept the use of the word "Chief" to describe tribal leaders, then that is an appropriate English word to use in that specific context.

4) It is without a doubt ok and advisable to continue to use the English word "chief" within all the original and ongoing definitions and meanings of the word- Such as in "Chief of Operations at...", or "CEO", or even "OK Chief" (to a boss figure). This has nothing to do with anything Native American or any ethnicity.

Ultimately, I really don't understand these lazy attacks on language. While many, many words can be used in a way that is intended to be purposefully hurtful or derogatory, far fewer are inherently so. It is really important to understand the etymology and all modern use cases of specific language. I consider myself very liberal minded, and I find this /specific/ type of "wokeness" really troubling. There are so many things (which often take real effort) that we could be doing to improve societal or systemic issues related to racial bias, and socio-economic disparities, but we have people who pat themselves on the back for things like "banning" non derogatory words. It creates distracting noise and a false sense of participation on the issues at hand- all energy and effort which could instead be doing actual good. I have a friend who tried to tell me the word "master" was banned. It's wild. Of course we shouldn't use that word in context of a "master-slave relationship", but this friend, whom I still love, really thought we could no longer say someone was a "master painter" or had "mastered a skill" or label a "master hard drive" in context of multiple copies- it is misguided and destructive and distracting. Look at all the time I wasted writing this thing -which I think should be pretty common sense! I could have been doing something much more useful and progressive with this time spent!

g\
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
49 months ago
We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
49 months ago

We can still use the word “Chief”? Just askin
My 16th cousin is native american. This offends me.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Attirex Avatar
49 months ago
aka union buster!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More
HomeView Software 27.2: Wallpapers, Control Center, and More
5 hours ago
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
6 hours ago
iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China
iOS 27.3 Will Enable These Apple Intelligence Features in China
6 hours ago
Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week
Apple Says iOS 27.3 Beta Coming Next Week
6 hours ago
Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'
Apple's Flash Storage Suppliers Are Finally 'Getting Their Revenge'
7 hours ago
14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2
14 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 27.2
8 hours ago
iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later
iPhone Duo Review: One Week Later
9 hours ago
Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign
Samsung Mocks iPhone Duo Display Cracks in New Ad Campaign
11 hours ago
The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More
The MacRumors Show: OLED MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 8, and More
11 hours ago
MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed
MacBook Pro With Touch Display: 15 More Details Revealed
11 hours ago
Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry
Russia Places Apple on State Surveillance Registry
13 hours ago
Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders
Halloween Weekend Brings Discounts on Apple Accessories and Pre-Orders
13 hours ago
Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months
Apple Has Released More Than 25 New Products in the Past Two Months
14 hours ago
Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac
Local Code Launches as Free, Private AI Assistant Tool for Mac
14 hours ago
Apple Acquires Ascend.io
Apple Acquires Ascend.io
15 hours ago
HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features
HomePod Mini 2 Launches Today: All the New Features
15 hours ago
AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99
AirTag 2 4-Pack Drops to New Low Price of $69.99
15 hours ago
Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral
Rian Johnson's iPhone Camera App Goes Viral
15 hours ago
Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores
Where Did All the iPhone Duos Go? Mostly to Apple's Stores
18 hours ago
Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027
Apple's Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Ship 1.5M Units in 2027
18 hours ago
New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed
New Apple TV 4K and iPad Mini: RAM Amounts Revealed
1 day ago
Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display
Apple Executive Comments on New iPad Mini Lacking 120Hz Display
1 day ago
Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors
Here's a Hands-On Look at HomePod Mini 2's New Two-Tone Colors
1 day ago
Apple Lowers App Store Fees in Taiwan Starting October 31
Apple Lowers App Store Fees in Taiwan Starting October 31
1 day ago
HomeView Pre-Order Returns to $289.99 on Amazon
HomeView Pre-Order Returns to $289.99 on Amazon
1 day ago
Apple Avoids Showing Pinched Fingers on iPad Mini Page in South Korea
Apple Avoids Showing Pinched Fingers on iPad Mini Page in South Korea
1 day ago
Old 'Popcorn Time' App Left Hundreds of Thousands of Macs at Risk
Old 'Popcorn Time' App Left Hundreds of Thousands of Macs at Risk
1 day ago
You Can Turn Off the New MacBook Pro's Touchscreen Functionality
You Can Turn Off the New MacBook Pro's Touchscreen Functionality
1 day ago
MacBook Pro Mini-LED vs. OLED Buyer's Guide: Every Difference
MacBook Pro Mini-LED vs. OLED Buyer's Guide: Every Difference
2 days ago
Where to Pre-Order Apple's New MacBooks, iPad Mini, and iMac
Where to Pre-Order Apple's New MacBooks, iPad Mini, and iMac
2 days ago