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☆ 13 behind-the-scenes executives leading Apple's $5 billion advertising division
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Right now its roughly $5 billion-in-revenue ads business largely consists of search ads sold within the App Store. It's been a big year for Apple's ad division. We asked more than a dozen advertising industry insiders and former Apple advertising staffers to identify the most important executives building Apple's advertising business. Teresi's ascent coincides with the explosive growth of Apple's ad business in recent years. A digital advertising veteran — having held senior roles at Yahoo, Quantcast, and Adobe — Teresi joined Apple in 2012 as vice president for its iAd division.

☆ Simu Liu stars in 'The Simpsons' episode as Lisa's tech billionaire husband
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Brahmjot Kaur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Actor Simu Liu made an appearance Sunday on the latest episode of “The Simpsons” as Lisa Simpson’s future “visionary tech giant” husband. The episode includes multiple time jumps, beginning with with Nelson and Lisa reuniting before her college graduation. The time jumps that follow include Hubert and Lisa’s separation, their reconciliation and Nelson and Lisa’s reunification once again. Liu went to Instagram to share his excitement for the recent episode. “The Simpsons” also welcomed Simu and his character to the show’s universe on Twitter after the episode aired.

☆ Apple's App store has become an ad-infested imitation of its former self, which is not good for iPhone users or developers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Michael Gartenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Apple used to carefully curate its App store, helping developers gain visibility and customers find what they needed. These days, it seems to be more about maximizing Apple's revenue than serving customers or helping developers flourish. Thus, the App store was born to give iPhone's beautiful hardware and elegant operating system thousands of apps, created by programmers running their own app businesses. Now, after 15 years of iPhones, I find the App store to be an imitation of its former self. The developer had gone to great lengths to try to show how copycat apps slipped through Apple's app review system.

☆ Buying new iPhone for better camera, battery, faster chip? Cybersecurity got an upgrade, too
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Customers shop at the Apple Fifth Avenue store for the release of the Apple iPhone 14 in New York City, September 16, 2022. Improved low-light photo abilities and the extended battery life may have appeal than security upgrades on the new Apple iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max. While in Lockdown Mode, phone calls, plain text messages and emergency features will continue to work. The switch to eSIM-only phonesSteve Jobs never wanted the original iPhone to have a SIM card tray, and the iPhone 14 models are finally achieving this goal. All iPhone 14 models purchased in the U.S. are eSIM-only, which enables users to easily connect and transfer their plans digitally.

☆ Out with the new and in with the old: Why companies from Starbucks to Disney are bringing back their old CEOs to run the companies again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There are perhaps hundreds of qualified candidates for the job of Disney's CEO. After all, returning CEOs have mixed track records. Iger was Disney's CEO for 15 years — presumably, he won't need much onboarding. In the best-case scenario, the returning CEO has learned more in the time since leaving the post. Indeed, there's always the risk that a returning CEO leans too heavily on their former experience.

☆ 'Boomerang CEOs' don't always work out; Disney hopes this one bucks trend
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Can Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) bank on another hit sequel? That appears to be the hope behind the company's surprise decision to bring back former chief executive Bob Iger to replace Bob Chapek. During his first tenure from 2005 to 2020, Disney's annualised shareholder returns were more than 14%, well above its rival Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and the broader stock market, and in total in that period the stock rose more than 400%. Yet there are reasons to think that Disney may have made the right decision in bringing back Iger, Bingham said. “I think this is a game-changer," said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors, about Disney.

☆ Disney's media sales boss to exit in Iger shake-up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - A day after returning to the company, Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Chief Executive Bob Iger moved to undo a corporate structure put in place by his hand-picked successor. Iger said the restructuring would result in changes to Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, a unit former CEO Bob Chapek formed in October 2020 to centralize all film and television sales and distribution. Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich said Iger's decisive action resembles his management approach during his first stint as Disney's CEO. During that time, he quickly calmed tensions with Pixar Animation Studio's chief executive, Steve Jobs. Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Mark Porter and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bob Iger is back at Disney. He can't rely on the same old script.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney is looking to Bob Iger to lead the company and to find another successor — again. It's critical for returning CEOs to approach the job as if it were their first time. Disney shares jumped as much as 10% on Monday after the company announced that Iger would replace his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek. The researchers didn't study the reasons why returning CEOs performed worse, but wrote in a 2020 article that many returning CEOs "barely recognize the company upon returning." Being "mindfully alert" as a returning CEO, Kauffman said, means you are "not bringing judgments to the table, but trying to keep an open mindset."

☆ Disney’s tale of two Bobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This was a big surprise Sunday night, for a few reasons:1) Iger has previously dismissed the idea of going back to Disney. Then, he kept going: Iger’s Disney acquired Lucasfilm, home of the Star Wars franchise, for a little over $4 billion. Disney shares surged 9% Monday morning, reflecting investors’ hopes that Iger will swoop in and work his magic. The Trump news was no surprise — even before buying Twitter, Musk made clear he would reinstate Trump and rethink the site’s content-moderation policies. And if Musk’s strategy is to stoke controversy, he’s already brought out the big guns in letting Trump back on.

☆ Disney's Iger may have to cut costs as streaming loses money
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Bob Iger must show Wall Street a new side to his character as he returns to lead Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) by cutting costs and restoring profits in just two years after splurging cash on acquisitions and a streaming business last time round. The entertainment giant shocked investors late on Sunday evening announcing the ouster of Chief Executive Bob Chapek and appointing Iger, 71, to a two-year contract to return the company to growth. read moreThe move evoked other return engagements such as Steve Jobs' return to Apple and Howard Schultz's return to Starbucks in times of crisis. The most immediate target of that could be Disney+, the streaming service that Iger helped launch in 2019. Some brokerages have also raised concern on whether the two-year period Iger has agreed to return for would be enough to transform the business and find a successor.

☆ Tosca Musk, Elon’s sister, has a business venture of her own – and it’s all about romance and female sexuality
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Faith Karimi Cnn Photographs Austin Steele | Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

It’s their first public film premiere since the pandemic started. Musk, 48, is the force behind Passionflix, which adapts romance novels into movies and streams them to a devoted niche audience. “Passionflix focuses on adapting romance novels exactly as the fan and the author envision it,” Musk says in a separate CNN interview. From left to right: Tosca Musk, Kimbal Musk, mother Maye Musk and Elon Musk at Maye's 50th birthday party in 1998. One of the founding members, she says she spent the pandemic years curled up on her couch, watching Passionflix movies.

☆ Elizabeth Holmes scheduled to be sentenced on Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Rachel Metz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of failed blood testing startup Theranos who was convicted of fraud earlier this year, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday morning by a judge in court in San Jose, California. The list includes Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, many members of Holmes’ and Evans’ families, early Theranos investor Tim Draper, and Sen. Cory Booker. Elizabeth Holmes (L), founder of Theranos, and her partner, Billy Evans (R), leave the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building and US Courthouse in San Jose, California, on October 17, 2022. “The effects of Holmes and Balwani’s fraudulent conduct were far-reaching and severe,” federal prosecutors wrote in a November court filing regarding Holmes’ sentencing. “Elizabeth Holmes is never going to run a big company again,” he said.

☆ Elon Musk runs 3 companies — and his executive juggling act is the perfect example of how the modern CEO job is broken
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Musk is currently the CEO of three different companies: SpaceX, Tesla, and, of course, Twitter. But like many CEOs, he's accumulated a huge fortune by juggling several companies and directorships at once. While Musk may be an extreme case, he's also the perfect example of the modern CEO: a chaotic blend of unproductive micromanagement and highly-paid absenteeism. In the extreme, some CEOs like Musk have taken on the management of multiple large companies. And Musk isn't the only executive who would be better served focusing on one task.

☆ Entertainment honorees: presenting the 100 People Transforming Business 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Services, AppleGettySince joining the tech giant Apple in 1989, Cue has helped change how the world listens to music and watches movies and TV. Consumers interact with Cue's gargantuan Services unit all day long, from its maps to Apple Pay to photo storage. Services drew $78 billion in revenue in the company's fiscal year 2022 (through September 24) and has accumulated more than 900 million paying subscribers around the globe. As the revolutionary iPod came to market, Cue helped tee up iTunes. Now in 2022, Cue has overseen growth in new banking products, presided over streamer Apple TV+ — which scored the first best picture Oscar for a streamer this year with "CODA" — and, crucially, driven the company's entry into sports.

☆ The rise of Snowflake created a hole in Salesforce's long-dominant ecosystem, and now startups are rushing in to seize the opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Matthew Lynley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A new category called "reverse ETL" is emerging as startups race to fill a gap created by Snowflake. But in recent years, a substantial shift has emerged in the way companies manage their data, dovetailing with the rise of cloud providers like Snowflake and Databricks. How reverse ETL was born to fill a hole that Salesforce left wide openThe notion of a reverse-ETL pipeline isn't necessarily new. The future of reverse ETL might not be where it startedMany investors who did not invest in reverse ETL who spoke with Insider said they were surprised the friction was so large that it was able to support a single company, much less three. "We partner with great tools like Hightouch and Census for reverse ETL to SaaS applications."

☆ Someone paid over $200,000 for the Birkenstocks that Steve Jobs wore in the garage where he founded Apple
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Steve Jobs' used Birkenstocks were auctioned for more than $200,000 on Saturday. Since then, the Birkenstocks have circulated through exhibitions across Milan, Berlin, and New York — but the price has definitely risen. While most vintage items are marked down in price for wear and tear, in the case of Jobs' Birkenstocks, the value was in the damage. While the hype around Jobs' Birkenstocks is due in part to his glorified status within Silicon Valley, the sandals might have fetched more money this time around because Birkenstocks themselves have skyrocketed in popularity. Margot Fraser, the German-American entrepreneur who founded the US arm of Birkenstocks, told Julien's that "he was interested in where the form comes from.

Companies Theranos Inc FollowNov 8 (Reuters) - Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' request for a new trial was denied by a federal judge in California late on Monday, court documents showed. In January, Holmes, 37, was found guilty of defrauding investors in the blood testing startup, convicting her on four of 11 counts. She was convicted of investor fraud and conspiracy, but acquitted on three counts of defrauding patients who paid for tests from Theranos, and a related conspiracy charge. In July, former Theranos President Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was also convicted of defrauding investors and patients about Theranos that was once valued at $9 billion. Holmes' lawyers filed for a new trial in September citing "newly discovered" evidence from the government's statements made at the closing arguments of Balwani’s trial, as well as alleged government misconduct.

☆ The rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos CEO found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy, who awaits sentencing in mere days after being denied all three of her motions for a new trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Sarah Jackson | Áine Cain | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Later, technology flaws were exposed, resulting in a months-long trial where Holmes was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. Now, Holmes is due to be sentenced in a matter of days after a judge denied 3 motions she had filed requesting a new trial. As she awaited trial, Holmes reportedly found the time to get engaged — and married — to a hotel heir named Billy Evans. In January, jurors found Holmes guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Since then, Holmes has also filed three motions requesting a new trial, all of which the judge ultimately denied.

☆ Twitter staffers are sleeping in the office—ex-Apple engineer who worked on the iPhone says it's totally unnecessary
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

For some Twitter employees under Elon Musk, sleeping in the office appears to be an absolute must — the physical embodiment of the tech industry's "hustle culture." It's also totally unnecessary, says Ken Kocienda, a former Apple software engineer and designer who helped build the first iPhone and iPad. "I was on these [Apple] teams from the earliest stages and I never once came close to sleeping at the office. It's not an essential part of doing great work," he wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday. The "hustle porn" trend of tech founders and executives bragging about working around the clock and sleeping in their offices is nothing new.

☆ The former assistant to Jack Ma reveals the 'secret sauce' behind Alibaba's meteoric rise in a new book
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jonathan A. Knee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Brian A. Wong is a long-time Alibaba executive and former special assistant to Jack Ma, the company's founder. to Jack Ma, the company's founder. In a new book, Wong details Alibaba's management ethos and how it can be applied by others to achieve similar success. Brian Wong joined Alibaba as its first American employee shortly after meeting CEO Jack Ma in 1999, the same year the trailblazing e-commerce behemoth was founded. Like Steve Jobs, Jack Ma was haunted by the decline of once great technology companies like Hewlett Packard after the departure of their founding team.

☆ I switched from a hybrid car to a $25,000 electric Mini Cooper. It's my first EV and it's so fun to drive.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Andrew Lambrecht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

He went with the 2023 Mini Cooper SE, which is a fully electric model priced at just over $25,000. I bought my first fully electric car, the Mini Cooper SE, in July. I gravitated toward the Mini Cooper SE, despite it costing slightly more, because it shares many of its technical components with the BMW i3 since BMW Group owns Mini. The gas cap on a 2023 red Mini Cooper SE. I've enjoyed every moment of owning my Mini Cooper SE.

☆ At Pixar, Steve Jobs hired a director who'd 'just made a big flop'—the result was an Oscar-winning success
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Fresh off the career-threatening flop, Bird was hired by Jobs and Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull to write and direct a movie called "The Incredibles." "They were feeling like, 'We're in danger of falling into certain habits because we have the same group that are doing things ... but we want to shake things up.'" Jobs and Catmull told Bird they hired him because "The Iron Giant" showed a determination to find new ways to tell stories, Bird recalled. "I want people who are disgruntled because they have a better way of doing things and they're having trouble finding an avenue," Bird said. If you're doing it right, you are kind of an underdog," Bird said.

☆ Elon Musk's biographer, who was shadowing him, says the billionaire likely decided it was 'unwise' to post a baseless conspiracy theory about Pelosi's husband and deleted it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Walter Isaacson said Elon Musk likely later thought it was "unwise" to tweet a conspiracy theory. On Sunday, Musk tweeted and then later deleted an unsubstantiated claim about Paul Pelosi's attack. Isaacson shadowed Musk last week for his biography on the Tesla CEO. The biographer shadowed Musk over the past week as the billionaire followed through with his plans to buy Twitter. However, the biographer questioned whether much of Musk's success could be attributed to being "unfiltered," comparing him to Apple's Steve Jobs.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg is trying to do what Google did with Android — but he learned all the wrong lessons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta's effort to build the metaverse is a way to wrangle back control of consumer data from Apple, experts say. Google's effort paid off, but it's likely that Mark Zuckerberg learned the wrong lessons from recent history. It's similar to why Google developed Android, but Mark Zuckerberg's project seems to miss one key ingredient that made Android a success. Android vs. MetaverseGoogle reportedly created Android more than a decade ago for the same reason: to compete with Apple. Google saw where Apple was going and continued to develop its Android platform to match Apple's iOS.

☆ Elon Musk owning Twitter should give everyone pause
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Seth Fiegerman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk, the mercurial billionaire, had agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion the month before only to begin raising doubts about the deal soon after. Now, Musk joins the list of rich, white men who single-handedly control social platforms that collectively reach and shape the lives of billions of people around the world. And Musk, who will reportedly have “absolute control over Twitter” according to a shareholders’ agreement, promises to be uniquely disruptive. To those in the first camp, Musk serving as the sole decider at Twitter may be cause for celebration. Elon Musk is a conglomerate, and each arm of his empire potentially gives him more leverage, real or imagined, in advocating for the others.

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