Apple Vice President of Retail Jerry McDougal has left the company, according to information that sources gave to Gary Allen of IfoAppleStore. His departure was later confirmed in a statement from Apple. McDougal has been with Apple since 2000, and was recruited by former Retail chief Ron Johnson.
Formerly of IBM and retailer PC Connection, McDougal had been one of the candidates that many speculated could replace Johnson when he left to be CEO of JC Penney. That position ended up going to Dixons’ John Browett. Browett was then fired after a series of issues surrounding his treatment of hiring practices and hours placed pressure on CEO Tim Cook.
After Browett’s exit, McDougal re-enterd the short list of potentials. Both Bob Bridger, VP of Development and Steve Cano, VP of Retail, have also been considered to be candidates.
Allen’s sources say that McDougal is leaving to spend more time with his family. It’s hard not to think that being passed over twice for promotion to SVP of Retail didn’t have something to do with it though.
Update: Apple has confirmed the departure to All Things D:
Retail has an incredibly strong network of leaders at the store and regional level, and they will continue the excellent work they’ve done over the past decade to revolutionize retailing with unique, innovative services and a focus on the customer that is second to none,” Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said. “Jim Bean is moving to Retail to help support our store teams. Jim has been at Apple for 15 years and is a great leader who understands our culture and focus on customer service.
Bean is a VP of Finance at Apple, and has been with the company for 13 years.
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