Deirdre O'Brien

Few executives at Apple carry the institutional weight of Deirdre O’Brien. A 35-year company veteran, she has been present for every major product launch. Today, as SVP of retail and people, she manages a multibillion-dollar portfolio, with more than 530 stores around the world and Apple’s global workforce of more than 150,000 employees. Under her leadership, Apple is expanding further into emerging markets; over the past year, she’s already overseen store openings in China, Japan, India, and the UAE. Apple’s first physical location in Saudi Arabia will open this year. As head of people, she supports professional growth, business partnerships, recruiting, and more at Apple. While she wasn’t ultimately chosen for the CEO role, she was floated as a long-shot candidate to take over from Tim Cook—a sign of her impact.