Apple hires Barbara Whye as its new head of inclusion and diversity

Apple has found its new Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity.

What you need to know

• Apple has hired Barbara Whye as its new Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity.
• The executive comes from a similar role at Intel.

Reported by Fortune, Apple has announced that Barbara Whye has been hired as the new Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity. The executive comes from Intel as the company's head of diversity and inclusion there.

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokesperson, said in a written statement that Whye's 25-year experience will help the company "hire, develop and retain the world-class talent, at all levels, that reflects the communities we serve."

"An engineer by training and a globally-recognized leader on issues of representation in the technology industry, Barbara has spent 25 years at Intel, helping the company make meaningful and durable positive change ... Now, she will bring her immense talents and deep experience to Apple, expanding our companywide effort to hire, develop and retain the world-class talent, at all levels, that reflects the communities we serve."

Whye will replace Christie Smith, who served in the role for about two years before departing Apple back in June of 2019.

Apple's last head of diversity, Christie Smith, left last June. Since then, the company had been in the process of looking for a new exec. (Smith came on board after long-time Apple insider Denise Young Smith left the position and the company in late 2017.)

Whye, who was featured on Fortune's Most Powerful Women list, helped Intel meet its diversity goals two years ahead of the company's schedule.

Whye, who made this year's Fortune Most Powerful Women list for the first time, has set a high bar for heads of diversity during her time at Intel, which she first joined in 1995. Unlike most other tech companies, the chipmaker set—and met—a goal of reaching representation within its employee base: the racial and gender breakdown of its nearly 111,000-person workforce mirrors the breakdown of the "skilled" labor market in the United States. Under Whye's leadership, the company reached this goal two years ahead of schedule.

Whye will start at Apple next year and report to Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail and People.

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