Apple’s App Store vice president Matt Fischer will leave the company in October, according to a report from Bloomberg.
With this departure, Phil Schiller will take the opportunity to rework the structure of the team responsible for the application store by splitting it into two parts, in order to respond to the constant evolution of the policy of the App Store in the world.
Prominent official bids farewell
Matt Fischer had been vice president of the App Store since 2010, reporting to Apple board member Phil Schiller. He announced his departure in an email yesterday, saying:
After 21 years at Apple, I have made the decision to leave our incredible company. I’ve been thinking about this for some time, and as we also reorganize the team to better handle new challenges and opportunities, the time has come to pass the baton to two exceptional leaders on my team.
Fischer currently serves as “Vice President, Head of Worldwide App Store and Apple Arcade.” He joined Apple in 2003 and led marketing and partnerships for iTunes before moving to the App Store in 2010.
The new organization of the App Store
Along with Mr. Fischer’s departure, the App Store group will be “split into two teams.” One team will be responsible for overseeing Apple’s App Store, while the other will be “responsible for alternative distribution of applications.” The famous sideloading officially admitted by Apple since iOS 17.4, at least in Europe for the moment. With iOS 17.5, Apple has also added the ability to download applications directly from a website.
Apple veteran Carson Oliver will lead the App Store team, while App Store product director Ann Thai will lead the alternative app distribution team.
As for the two rather discreet people, it should be noted that Oliver joined Apple in 2012 and currently holds the position of Senior Director of App Store Business Management. Thai joined Apple in 2010 and worked on marketing Apple’s educational apps, before becoming “Worldwide Product Director, App Store and Apple Arcade” in January 2020.
The App Store is currently led by Phil Schiller, who became an Apple Fellow in August 2020. At the time, Apple said he would “continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events” while providing “thoughtful partnership and guidance.”