Deirdre O’Brien

O’Brien has the unusual role of leading Apple’s massive human resources department as well as its retail stores, both physical and online. It’s a daunting task, considering Apple employs over 130,000 people and boasts annual retail sales of about $74 billion, according to eMarketer. Apple is hoping that O’Brien’s people skills as an HR chief will translate to its retail store business and improve customer service.