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Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer may be best known for his role in the quarterly earnings calls. He is always on hand to explain money to investors and let the world know just how good the company is doing, financially. Today, Apple announced that Oppenheimer is retiring at the end of September to be replaced by current corporate controller and VP of Finance, Luca Maestri. This change over has been in the works for at least a year now and the future CFO appears to be following the same path that his predecessor did nearly 20 years ago.
In 1996, Oppenheimer joined Apple as controller for the Americas after leaving Automatic Data Processing as CFO. A year later, he was promoted to corporate controller and soon after became CFO at Apple.
In 2013, Maestri joined Apple as corporate controller after leaving Xerox Corp. as CFO. A year later, he is being promoted to Apple CFO. You can see the comparison.
When Maestri joined the Apple family, Bloomberg predicted the succession, quoting analyst at Barclays that his hiring could be a signal that the iPad maker is ready to plan for Oppenheimer’s succession.
What does Maestri’s new role at Apple mean for the company’s future? It is possible that it will mean a boost in stock prices. Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes noted to investors when he was first hired that, “Maustri is a champion of shareholder return,” and “The hiring of Maestri could mean that Apple is leaning in that direction long term.”
“Luca has over 25 years of global experience in senior financial management, including roles as a public company CFO, and I am confident he will be a great CFO at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO. “When we were recruiting for a corporate controller, we met Luca and knew he would become Peter’s successor. His contributions to Apple have already been significant in his time with us and he has quickly gained respect from his colleagues throughout the company.”
As for Oppenheimer’s plans for his own future, “For quite some time, I have wanted to live on the central coast of California and get more involved at Cal Poly, my alma mater; spend more time with my wife and sons; travel to interesting parts of the world; and something I have wanted to do for years— finish the requirements for my pilot’s license.”
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