Indian-Origin Techie Appointed as Apple COO

Another Indian-origin techie has proven his mettle and risen to the pinnacle of his career. Sabih Khan, an Indian-American executive and long-time Apple veteran, has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple Inc., succeeding Jeff Williams.

Khan, who has been with the tech giant for nearly three decades, currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations and will officially take over as COO later this month.

The 59-year-old joined Apple in 1995 and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2019. He oversees Apple’s global supply chain and manufacturing operations. Born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 1966, Khan studied there until the 5th grade before his family moved to Singapore.

In a statement, Apple announced that Jeff Williams will transition his responsibilities as COO to Sabih Khan later this month, as part of a long-planned succession strategy.

Williams will continue to report to Apple CEO Tim Cook and will oversee Apple’s world-class design team and Apple Watch, along with the company’s health initiatives. Once Williams retires later this year, Apple’s design team will begin reporting directly to Cook.

Apple CEO Tim Cook praised Khan, calling him a “brilliant strategist and one of the central architects of Apple’s supply chain.” Under Khan’s leadership, Apple has pioneered new technologies in advanced manufacturing and expanded its production footprint in the United States.

Cook also credited Khan with reducing Apple’s carbon footprint by more than 60 percent. Before joining Apple, Khan worked at GE Plastics (now SABIC) as an application development and key account technical leader.