In a major leadership transition at Apple, CEO Tim Cook has appointed Indian-origin executive Sabih Khan as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO), following the planned retirement of longtime operations chief Jeff Williams.

Sabih Khan is presently Apple’s senior vice president of Operations and will assume the chief operating officer (COO) role later this month.

A bombshell announcement from Cupertino late on Wednesday is reshaping the highest echelons of leadership at Apple, the world’s most valuable and scrutinised corporation. Jeff Williams, the Chief Operating Officer for the past decade and a figure many considered a potential,