News

Apple’s Diversity Head Christie Smith Leaves the Company With No Replacement Named

Apple’s chief of diversity and inclusion Christie Smith is leaving the company without a replacement being named.

Bloomberg reports that Smith – who reported to Apple’s senior VP of retail and people, Deirdre O’Brien – has been planning to leave for two months, but Tuesday was her last day at work.

“Inclusion and diversity are core Apple values and we deeply believe the most diverse teams are the most innovative teams,” Apple said in an emailed statement confirming the news. “Christie Smith will be leaving Apple to spend more time with her family and we wish her well. Our Inclusion and Diversity team continues to report directly to Deirdre O’Brien on the Executive Team.”

Smith’s LinkedIn account has been updated to reflect the change in employment status.

Smith, who joined Apple in 2017, took over the role of chief of diversity and inclusion from Denise Young Smith, who stepped down just six months on the job after apologizing for controversial comments she made about Apple’s mostly white executive team.

Prior to joining Apple, Smith was with Deloitte for 17 years as a Client Advisory Principal.

Chris Hauk

Chris is a Senior Editor at Mactrast. He lives somewhere in the deep Southern part of America, and yes, he has to pump in both sunshine and the Internet.