Isabel Ge Mahe

In recent years, Apple has looked to its services like Apple Pay and Apple Music—versus its iPhone or Mac devices—for growth. That’s an especially challenging prospect in China, which Mahe has overseen since 2017, because of the dominance WeChat, whose giant ecosystem encompasses payment tools, messaging systems, and games. In the quarter ending in late June, net sales in Greater China dipped 4% year-on-year to $9.2 billion as Apple’s net sales overall inched up 1%. All that means sales of the iPhone 11 are that much more vital to the region. In addition to running China’s Greater China $52 billion segment, Mahe pursued leadership opportunities outside of Apple this year, joining the board of Starbucks in September.

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