Apple reshuffles board to fill Tim Cook's old job and promotes most senior staff

The role of chief operating officer has been left empty since Tim Cook became the boss of the company in 2011

Brian Ceballo emerges from the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue as the first to purchase the new iPhone 5 to the cheers of Apple store employees September 20, 2013 in New York (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Apple has reshuffled its most senior staff to pick a chief operations officer, finally finding a replacement for Tim Cook’s old role.

The position, one of the most senior in the biggest company in the world, had been vacant since Tim Cook moved to take control of Apple in 2011. It will now be filled by Apple veteran Jeff Williams.

Mr Williams joined the company in 1998. He was head of Apple’s operations division before the move.

Apple also said that its marketing boss Phil Schiller would take control of the App Store on both iOS and Mac OS.

"We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple's executive team," Mr Cook said.

"As we come to the end of the year, we're recognising the contributions already being made by two key executives."

It was also announced that current hardware vice-president Johny Srouji will join the company's executive team as a senior vice-president.

Mr Cook added: "Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I've ever worked with, and Johny's team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year."

Mr Williams has been tipped by some as a future chief executive of Apple, and is now following a similar career path to that of Mr Cook, having attended the same university and started at Apple in the same year. Mr Williams will now serve as the CEO's first full-time deputy.

Advertising executive Tor Myhren will join Apple in 2016 as vice-president of marketing and communication, the company also confirmed.

This year saw Apple break company and global profit records following the launch of the iPhone 6 in the previous autumn by announcing profits of more than £11 billion in the first quarter of the year. The company also launched its first smartwatch, the iPad Pro and the iPhone 6s this year.

The Cupertino, California-based firm also unveiled a music streaming service aiming to compete with Spotify, which launched in June as Apple Music.

Additional reporting by Press Association