Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on Thursday that Apple has appointed Steve Smith to run its mergers and acquisitions operation. In a separate post on Bluesky, Gurman said Smith replaces Adrian Perica, who led Apple’s M&A and corporate development teams for more than a decade, and that Perica will now focus entirely on services such as iCloud, Fitness+ and Apple News.
The appointments are part of a broader management reorganisation under chief executive John Ternus, Bloomberg said. Smith will report to chief financial officer Kevan Parekh, and Carson Oliver has been promoted to vice president of the App Store, reporting to services chief Eddy Cue (via 9to5Mac). Oliver fills the App Store role held by Phil Schiller before Schiller stepped down in August.
Perica joined Apple in 2009 and has been responsible for iCloud, Fitness+ and Apple News since 2023. Apple has not said whether Smith’s existing title of senior director of corporate development changes along with the M&A role, and the exact effective dates for the appointments have not been specified. The moves give Ternus new leadership at the centre of Apple’s dealmaking and its App Store business.