Apple announces departure of Lisa Jackson and Kate Adams

Apple general counsel Kate Adams and vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson will retire from Apple announced on Thursday.

Apple said Jennifer Newstead will become Apple’s new general counsel in March next year, and Jackson’s government affairs staff will report to her.

The two executives previously reported to Apple CEO Tim Cook, representing the latest sign that Apple’s senior leadership is seeing a series of exits.

In recent weeks, Apple’s chief software designer announced he was leaving for Meta, Apple said its AI chief was retiring, and Apple’s chief operating officer was retiring.

Adams joined Apple and became general counsel in 2017, overseeing legal matters including litigation, global security and the company’s privacy initiatives. Under Adams, Apple grappled with increased antitrust scrutiny and regulation around the world, including major lawsuits in the U.S. over iPhone App Store restrictions and fees.

Jackson joined Apple in 2013 and oversaw much of the company’s diversity programs as well as policy work in Washington, D.C.

Before joining Apple in 2013, he served for four years as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he was appointed by President Barack Obama.

Jackson is a Democrat, and his retirement marks a change in Apple’s approach to Washington, D.C., during the second Trump administration. Apple has faced increasing tariffs from the Trump administration, and Cook has met with President Trump several times to tout the company’s American manufacturing plans in an effort to limit policy changes that could harm the company.

He also led Apple’s environmental initiatives.

In his role, Jackson “focused on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic pollution, and expanding outreach to communities on environmental issues,” according to his bio on Apple’s website.

Jackson was instrumental in launching Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative following the killing of George Floyd in 2020.

He later helped expand the company’s equality and justice efforts to other countries, including the United Kingdom, Mexico and New Zealand, according to a 2023 report on the initiative.

“At Apple, we promise that our resolve will not waver,” Jackson wrote in part of the report. “We will not delay action. We will work every day on the urgent task of advancing equality.”

Jackson also accompanied Cook to various official events in Washington, including state dinners.

Newstead, who will be Apple’s top lawyer since 2019, will oversee Meta’s legal and regulatory matters related to its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and others.

Prior to his work at the social media giant, Newstead served as Trump-appointed legal counsel at the State Department during the president’s first administration in 2019.

Before that, he was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardell and general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, among other roles in the U.S. government.

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