Apple Shakeup Has Hardware Chief Taking On New Secret Project January 26, 2021 Apple has announced a shakeup of its executive team, with hardware chief Dan Riccio taking on a new project. Dan Riccio has been with Apple since 1998 as a leader on the Product Design team. From there he became vice president of iPad Hardware Engineering in 2010, and then executive team leader of Hardware Engineering in 2012. Riccio now moves on as a vice president of engineering. Most significantly, Apple says his new role will involving working on a new project and reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. In the meantime, John Ternus will take over Apple’s Hardware Engineering in place of Riccio.