14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has been leaking high-profile staffers since its visionary leader died three years ago. 2015 begins with another departure in the executive ranks, this time in the retail department.
The company’s Vice President of Retail Real Estate, Bob Bridger, told fellow colleagues at Apple that he would be retiring soon. He didn’t give any reasons for his departure, which leads us to believe that not all is well in the land of Apple retail.
Bridger’s job at Apple was to find awesome new locations to erect new stores, secure advantageous leasing, and more. Whether or not Apple will be filling back his empty seat remains to be seen. For now, the company is spearheading new initiatives with its new SVP, Angela Ahrends, which it poached from Burberry.
A potentially bad sign
Not giving any reasons for his departure means there’s a chance Bridger and the rest of Apple’s management have had a fallout. Normally, whenever an executive leaves the company, he/she gives a reason like wanting to spend more time with the family, or looking to start anew in a new role somewhere else.
For example, this is a statement offered by Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s senior vice president and CFO, who retired from the company at the end of September last year, leaving Luca Maestri to fill his shoes:
“I love Apple and the people I have had the privilege to work with and after 18 years here, it is time for me to take time for myself and my family. For quite some time, I have wanted to live on the central coast of California and get more involved at Cal Poly, my alma mater; spend more time with my wife and sons; travel to interesting parts of the world; and something I have wanted to do for years— finish the requirements for my pilot’s license.”
So not only Oppenheimer gave a reason for his departure, but he actually went to the trouble of enumerating all of them, for the sake of everyone looking after Apple’s wellbeing. In other words, this is considered a sign of good faith towards customers and investors. Apple has yet to put up a press release for Bridger’s retirement (if it even plans to do so).