Apple's long-time CFO Luca Maestri to be replaced by Kevan Parekh

By Claudia Assis

Maestri stepping down on Jan. 1 after about 10 years as CFO and will transition to new role, Apple says

Apple Inc.'s Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri is leaving his post by early next year, the tech giant said late Monday.

Maestri will step down from his CFO role on Jan. 1, and continue to lead Apple's (AAPL) corporate services teams. He will report to Chief Executive Tim Cook, Apple said.

Kevan Parekh, Apple's vice president of financial planning and analysis, will become CFO and join the executive team, the company said.

Apple's stock slipped 0.4% in Tuesday's premarket, after closing Monday at a six-week high.

Maestri had joined Apple in 2013 as vice president of finance, then became CFO in 2014 with the retirement of Peter Oppenheimer.

Apple filling the role with an internal candidate "should make the transition a bit smoother," Piper Sandler analyst Matt Farrell said in a note.

"However, any change of this magnitude does create some level of uncertainty, especially given the consistency and the history of execution from Mr. Maestri," Farrell said.

"We don't expect there will be any material, strategic pivots as a part of the transition, but we will be listening for any incremental takeaways on the company's September quarter earnings call in late October/early November," the analyst said.

Parekh joined Apple in 2013, and before that worked at Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI) and General Motors Co. (GM).

"I'm looking forward to the next stage of my time at Apple, and I have enormous confidence in Kevan as he prepares to take the reins as CFO," Maestri said in a statement. "He is truly exceptional, has a deep love for Apple and its mission, and he embodies the leadership, judgment and values that are so important to this role."

Maestri "enabled essential investments and practiced robust financial discipline, which together helped the company more than double its revenue, with services revenue growing more than five times," the company said.

So far this year, the tech company's shares have gained 18% through Monday, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average's DJIA 9.4% gain. Apple is a Dow component.

-Claudia Assis

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08-27-24 0702ET

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