Bob Mansfield, Apple Exec Who Has Led Hardware Engineering For Mac And iOS Devices, To Retire This Summer

Bob Mansfield, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, will retire this summer after 13 years with the company. The company announced the news in a press release today.

It’s a major departure, as during his career at Apple Mansfield led the hardware engineering of devices including the Mac, iPhone, iPod, and the iPad — some of the most popular and profitable consumer electronic gadgets in modern history. He often takes the stage at Apple events to describe the physical details of how new devices are engineered.

Mansfield has been well compensated for his efforts: This past February, MacRumors reported, he cashed in some $12.5 million in stock options. The previous April, he sold off 99 percent of the Apple shares he owned at that time, to the tune of $13.6 million.

Dan Riccio, who currently serves as Apple’s VP of iPad hardware engineering, will transition into role over the next several months.

We’re working on developing this story and getting some more details on why Mansfield is stepping away. In the meantime, here is the full text of Apple’s announcement: