Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer will retire at the
end of September as CEO Tim Cook brings on a new lieutenant to navigate
slowing growth at the iPhone maker.
Luca Maestri, who joined Apple as vice-president of finance and corporate controller a year ago, will succeed Mr Oppenheimer, Apple said on Tuesday.
Oppenheimer was at Apple for 18 years, during which the firm introduced the iPod and iPhone.
He oversaw a surge in Apple’s cash pile to $158.8bn from $5.46bn in 2004, the year he was promoted to chief financial officer, reinstated dividends in 2012 and returned more than $50bn to shareholders. His departure is the biggest change to executive ranks since Mr Cook ousted mobile-software chief Scott Forstall in 2012.
"When Luca was hired a year ago, we saw the writing on the wall," said an analyst at Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, who has the equivalent of a buy rating for Apple’s stock.
Mr Oppenheimer said in the statement that he planned to spend more time with his family, get more involved at California Polytechnic State University, travel and finish his pilot’s licence.
Mr Maestri joined Apple in March last year and was previously the chief financial officer of Xerox and Nokia Siemens Networks. Mr Maestri will start transitioning to the role as Apple’s chief financial officer in June.
"When we were recruiting for a corporate controller, we met Luca and knew he would become Peter’s successor," Mr Cook said in the statement. "Luca has over 25 years of global experience in senior financial management, including roles as a public company CFO (chief financial officer), and I am confident he will be a great CFO at Apple."
Apple stock is up 23% in the past year through Monday, compared with a 22% climb in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Mr Oppenheimer also helped Mr Cook stare down activist investors. Last month, Carl Icahn dropped his campaign urging Apple to buy back $50bn of stock this year, after the company stepped up repurchases.
Last year, Apple also appeased hedge-fund manager David Einhorn by boosting its dividend and increasing buybacks.
While Apple co-founder Steve Jobs resisted calls to return cash to shareholders, Mr Cook and Mr Oppenheimer have shown a willingness to meet investor demand.
"Look at where Apple came from in terms of cash, capital distribution two years ago — I mean, it’s night and day," Mr Munster said. "Oppenheimer was a big part of helping orchestrate that."
Mr Oppenheimer’s departure comes as Apple’s profit and sales have stagnated after years of growth, in part because of ebbing demand for the iPhone, its top-selling device. Apple last year posted its first profit decline in more than a decade. Last month, the company said revenue this quarter may fall for the first time since 2003.
The outgoing chief financial officer was paid a total of $2.63m in Apple’s latest financial year to September. In the prior year, Mr Oppenheimer was paid $68.6m, including restricted shares, making him the highest-paid chief financial officer at the time. He and other top Apple executives were issued stock grants in 2012 to retain top lieutenants after the death of Jobs.
Mr Oppenheimer joined Goldman Sachs’s board of directors on Tuesday.
Luca Maestri, who joined Apple as vice-president of finance and corporate controller a year ago, will succeed Mr Oppenheimer, Apple said on Tuesday.
Oppenheimer was at Apple for 18 years, during which the firm introduced the iPod and iPhone.
He oversaw a surge in Apple’s cash pile to $158.8bn from $5.46bn in 2004, the year he was promoted to chief financial officer, reinstated dividends in 2012 and returned more than $50bn to shareholders. His departure is the biggest change to executive ranks since Mr Cook ousted mobile-software chief Scott Forstall in 2012.
"When Luca was hired a year ago, we saw the writing on the wall," said an analyst at Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, who has the equivalent of a buy rating for Apple’s stock.
Mr Oppenheimer said in the statement that he planned to spend more time with his family, get more involved at California Polytechnic State University, travel and finish his pilot’s licence.
Mr Maestri joined Apple in March last year and was previously the chief financial officer of Xerox and Nokia Siemens Networks. Mr Maestri will start transitioning to the role as Apple’s chief financial officer in June.
"When we were recruiting for a corporate controller, we met Luca and knew he would become Peter’s successor," Mr Cook said in the statement. "Luca has over 25 years of global experience in senior financial management, including roles as a public company CFO (chief financial officer), and I am confident he will be a great CFO at Apple."
Apple stock is up 23% in the past year through Monday, compared with a 22% climb in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Mr Oppenheimer also helped Mr Cook stare down activist investors. Last month, Carl Icahn dropped his campaign urging Apple to buy back $50bn of stock this year, after the company stepped up repurchases.
Last year, Apple also appeased hedge-fund manager David Einhorn by boosting its dividend and increasing buybacks.
While Apple co-founder Steve Jobs resisted calls to return cash to shareholders, Mr Cook and Mr Oppenheimer have shown a willingness to meet investor demand.
"Look at where Apple came from in terms of cash, capital distribution two years ago — I mean, it’s night and day," Mr Munster said. "Oppenheimer was a big part of helping orchestrate that."
Mr Oppenheimer’s departure comes as Apple’s profit and sales have stagnated after years of growth, in part because of ebbing demand for the iPhone, its top-selling device. Apple last year posted its first profit decline in more than a decade. Last month, the company said revenue this quarter may fall for the first time since 2003.
The outgoing chief financial officer was paid a total of $2.63m in Apple’s latest financial year to September. In the prior year, Mr Oppenheimer was paid $68.6m, including restricted shares, making him the highest-paid chief financial officer at the time. He and other top Apple executives were issued stock grants in 2012 to retain top lieutenants after the death of Jobs.
Mr Oppenheimer joined Goldman Sachs’s board of directors on Tuesday.
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