iPod CREATOR Tony Fadell SURPRISINGLY `Quits Apple !!!

by **J The Kidd** Thu Nov 27, 2008 1:22 am

Apple SVP Tony Fadell will leave the company and be replaced by
former IBM exec Mark Papermaster, sources tell the Wall Street Journal.
(Update: See Apple's remarks below.)

Fadell's departure is a surprise. At Apple, he lead the iPod's
development, which Fortune magazine said was Fadell's idea in the first
place. The WSJ says Fadell was "part of the executive team" that
created the iPhone. Some pictured Fadell as Apple CEO Steve Jobs's
eventual successor.

At IBM, Papermaster led design of the Power PC processor, but at least
for now, he won't lead chip design at Apple. IBM sued him last month,
accusing him of breaching a noncompete agreement.

Update: Apple has issued a press release. Fadell and his wife Danielle
-- Apple's VP of HR -- are "reducing their roles" to "devote more time
to their young family." Fadell will remain an advisor to Steve Jobs;
his wife will leave Apple at the end of the year after a replacement is
hired.

Full release: Mark Papermaster Joins Apple as Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering

CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple(R) today
announced that Mark Papermaster is joining the Company as senior vice
president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting to Apple CEO Steve
Jobs. Papermaster, who comes to Apple from IBM, will lead Apple's
iPod(R) and iPhone(TM) hardware engineering teams. Papermaster has 25
years of product and technology experience, and was previously a vice
president at IBM.

Apple also announced that Tony Fadell, Apple's senior vice president of
the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, vice president of
Human Resources, are reducing their roles within the company as they
devote more time to their young family. Fadell will remain at Apple as
an advisor to the CEO. Lambert will depart the company at the end of
this year after a successor is in place.

"Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to
our senior management team," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Tony and
Dani have each made important contributions to Apple over the past
eight years. We're sorry to see Dani go, and are looking forward to
working with Tony in his new capacity."

Papermaster has a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree
from the University of Texas, and Masters of Science in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Vermont in 1988. He is active with
the University of Texas where he is a member of the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Advisory Council.