Jeff Williams

Jeff Williams studied mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University and earned an MBA from Duke University. He worked at IBM before joining Apple in 1998 as head of worldwide procurement, recruited by Tim Cook, who was then building a new supply chain for the company.

He became vice president of operations in 2004 and ran worldwide operations for the iPod and iPhone. On December 17, 2015, he was named chief operating officer, with responsibility for the global supply chain, customer service and Apple's support offering AppleCare. He was also closely involved in the engineering of the Apple Watch and its health features.

On July 8, 2025, Apple announced that he would retire and that Sabih Khan would succeed him as chief operating officer. Williams moved out of the COO role in the summer and retired from the company later in 2025, ending 27 years at Apple.

Williams was one of the longest-serving members of Apple's executive team, and his retirement was one of the notable executive changes at Apple in 2025. His responsibilities passed mainly to Sabih Khan, who had worked under him in operations. Williams had spent more than a quarter of a century at the company, almost all of it in operations.