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Apple iPod Genius Quits, Replaced With IBM Guy*

TonyFadell.jpgApple SVP Tony Fadell will leave the company and be replaced by former IBM exec Mark Papermaster, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. (Update: See Apple's remarks below.)

Fadell's departure is a surprise. At Apple, he lead the iPod's development, which Fortune magazine said was Fadell's idea in the first place. The WSJ says Fadell was "part of the executive team" that created the iPhone. Some pictured Fadell as Apple CEO Steve Jobs's eventual successor.

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At IBM, Papermaster led design of the Power PC processor, but at least for now, he won't lead chip design at Apple. IBM sued him last month, accusing him of breaching a noncompete agreement.

Update: Apple has issued a press release. Fadell and his wife Danielle -- Apple's VP of HR -- are "reducing their roles" to "devote more time to their young family." Fadell will remain an advisor to Steve Jobs; his wife will leave Apple at the end of the year after a replacement is hired.

Full release:

Mark Papermaster Joins Apple as Senior Vice President of Devices Hardware Engineering

CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple(R) today announced that Mark Papermaster is joining the Company as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Papermaster, who comes to Apple from IBM, will lead Apple's iPod(R) and iPhone(TM) hardware engineering teams. Papermaster has 25 years of product and technology experience, and was previously a vice president at IBM.

Apple also announced that Tony Fadell, Apple's senior vice president of the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, vice president of Human Resources, are reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family.  Fadell will remain at Apple as an advisor to the CEO. Lambert will depart the company at the end of this year after a successor is in place.

"Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to our senior management team," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.  "Tony and Dani have each made important contributions to Apple over the past eight years.  We're sorry to see Dani go, and are looking forward to working with Tony in his new capacity."

Papermaster has a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Texas, and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont in 1988.  He is active with the University of Texas where he is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Advisory Council.

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