Sabih Khan, Indian-origin executive at Apple, elevated to COO role

iPhone maker Apple has elevated Indian-origin Sabih Khan to the position of chief operating officer, the company said on Wednesday.

Khan, who will take over the role from Jeff Williams later this month, has been at Apple for 30 years and joined the executive team as senior vice president of operations in 2019.

He was born in 1966 in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh where he studied till fifth grade before his family moved to Singapore.

"Jeff Williams will transition his role as chief operating officer later this month to Sabih Khan, Apple's senior vice president of operations, as part of a long-planned succession," Apple said in a statement.

Williams will continue reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook and overseeing Apple's world-class design team and Apple Watch alongside the company's Health initiatives. Apple's design team will then transition to reporting directly to Cook after Williams retires late in the year.

Khan has been been looking after Apple's supply chain and manufacturing operations.

On Khan's elevation, Cook said: "While overseeing Apple's supply chain, he has helped pioneer new technologies in advanced manufacturing, overseen the expansion of Apple's manufacturing footprint in the United States, and helped ensure that Apple can be nimble in response to global challenges."

Before joining Apple's procurement group in 1995, Khan worked as an applications development engineer and key account technical leader at GE Plastics.

Khan completed his schooling in Singapore and then moved to the US where he earned a bachelor's degrees in economics and mechanical engineering from Tufts University and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.