Apple Taps Highly Regarded Executive Bob Mansfield To Oversee Car Project -Sources -- Update
July 25 2016 - 12:08PM
Dow Jones News
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
Apple Inc. has tapped a highly regarded senior executive who
helped bring to market many of Apple's signature products to
oversee its fledgling automobile project, according to people
familiar with the matter.
Bob Mansfield had stepped back from a day-to-day role at the
company a few years ago, after leading the hardware engineering
development of products including the MacBook Air laptop computer,
the iMac desktop computer, and the iPad tablet. Apple now has Mr.
Mansfield running the company's secret autonomous, electric-vehicle
initiative, code-named Project Titan, the people said.
Mr. Mansfield, who joined Apple in 1999 and was one of its top
executives under former Chief Executive Steve Jobs, had been an
adviser at the company since leaving Apple's executive team in
2013. At the time, Apple said Mr. Mansfield was going to remain at
Apple to work on special projects and report to CEO Tim Cook. One
of those projects -- the Apple Watch -- was introduced last
year.
Until recently, Mr. Mansfield -- who, along with design chief
Jony Ive, was one of the few executives to appear in Apple's
carefully-crafted product announcement videos -- had all but
retreated from the company aside from the occasional visit, these
people said. Earlier this month, employees at Apple noticed in the
company directory that all the senior managers on the car project
were now reporting to Mr. Mansfield, they said.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment on personnel matters. Mr.
Mansfield didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
As the focus of automobile technology shifts from the internal
combustion engine to software, machine vision, and battery
technology, it has opened the door for companies like Apple to
benefit from years of experience in building high-tech devices. Mr.
Cook has predicted that "there will be a massive change in the
industry" as software and autonomous driving become more
important.
The car project is one of Apple's long-term projects aimed at
driving future growth -- an especially pressing need with the
company suffering from a slowdown in sales for its flagship
product, the iPhone.
Mr. Mansfield's reassignment brings a leader with a record of
delivering challenging technical products to market to an effort
that has been mired in problems, according to people familiar with
the project.
Apple, which has never acknowledged publicly that it is working
on a car, has hundreds of employees working on the project, these
people said. It has hired a slew of veterans from the automobile
industry as well as experts in battery technology and autonomous
driving.
But building a car is complicated and Apple has struggled to
define a differentiated vision for its vehicle, these people said.
Some of the automobile industry veterans have clashed with longtime
company employees on how best to proceed.
Earlier this year, Steve Zadesky, who was assigned to head the
project, left the company citing personal reasons, people close to
the company said then.
An initial target set by management to complete the project by
2019 was seen as unrealistic by team members, considering the
number of unresolved challenges, according to people familiar with
the project. Technology news site The Information reported last
week that Apple had pushed back the target to 2021, although it
isn't clear whether this is a target that Mr. Mansfield has
approved.
Mr. Mansfield has a reputation within Apple as a data-driven
decision maker who enjoys complex projects. However, one person
familiar with Mr. Mansfield cautioned that his involvement isn't
necessarily a sign that the car project is ready to move forward at
an accelerated rate, noting that he has killed projects in the
past.
Mr. Mansfield joined Apple when the company acquired Raycer
Graphics, where he had been vice president of engineering. He had
overseen microprocessor efforts at other companies and became in
charge of Mac hardware engineering. Over time, his responsibilities
grew and he oversaw development of many key Apple technologies
including microprocessors for the iPhone and iPad and the company's
"Retina" high-definition displays.
In 2012, Mr. Mansfield had planned to retire from Apple but was
persuaded to stay on by Mr. Cook, The Wall Street Journal reported
at the time. He was appointed senior vice president of
technologies, but nine months later, Mr. Mansfield's biography
disappeared from Apple's home page and the company said he was
leaving the executive team.
Write to Daisuke Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 25, 2016 11:53 ET (15:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024