B777Forevar
macrumors 6502a
So one of the Houston minions who turned United into COdbaUA is gonna go to Apple?
This is gonna be interesting.
This is gonna be interesting.
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Apple Hires United Continental CFO as VP of Sales
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I know that people lament me on here for my joke posts, but here is my view on this (and the continuing support of my opinion that Apple has reached the peak of its glory):
1. I often feel that people are biased against me because of my age, but 30 is very young to be given the position that he held at Continental. I have a PhD in Business and I would feel anxious about taking such a position. How did he obtain such a job? (genius, luck, connections... mix of all three?) Either way, for any serious apple shareholder, this requires looking into.
2. Airline industry has been in trouble for decades now and is in constantly threading on massive loses/strikes/consumer retaliation. You are basically dealing with expensive operations/security requirements/overhead, while still being required to provide low prices for what is now a commodity product. And, at the end of the day, your consumers hate the process of air travel/dealing with airline staff/etc. Compare that to Apple which is in the business of producing high-end products, at fair gross margins, to a consumer base that is highly loyal to Apple. All this to say, I am not sure how experience in such an industry will translate to the consumer electronic market. What has he done at continental to be given the position at Apple? I could understand hiring someone who implemented a new and succesful business model that helped to turn an airline around, but Continental?
This reminds me of the story about the CFO at HTC who paid 300 million for the beats brand. Hopefully this guy does not display the same levels of "genius".
1. I often feel that people are biased against me because of my age, but 30 is very young to be given the position that he held at Continental. I have a PhD in Business and I would feel anxious about taking such a position. How did he obtain such a job? (genius, luck, connections... mix of all three?) Either way, for any serious apple shareholder, this requires looking into.
2. Airline industry has been in trouble for decades now and is in constantly threading on massive loses/strikes/consumer retaliation. You are basically dealing with expensive operations/security requirements/overhead, while still being required to provide low prices for what is now a commodity product. And, at the end of the day, your consumers hate the process of air travel/dealing with airline staff/etc. Compare that to Apple which is in the business of producing high-end products, at fair gross margins, to a consumer base that is highly loyal to Apple. All this to say, I am not sure how experience in such an industry will translate to the consumer electronic market. What has he done at continental to be given the position at Apple? I could understand hiring someone who implemented a new and succesful business model that helped to turn an airline around, but Continental?
This reminds me of the story about the CFO at HTC who paid 300 million for the beats brand. Hopefully this guy does not display the same levels of "genius".
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thisrocks
macrumors regular
I thought the beats acquisition was a good one, they can now tailor the entire audio experience, even more so if they were say, Apple and had iTunes.
If Apple purchased a Loudspeaker/Headphone producer, say...B&W they could tailer iTunes files to be best experienced with B&W products, from start to finish, from the creation and production of the song/album, through to the file for distribution, and it's mastering, and then optimised listening experience through B&W speakers/headphones.
The more control they have, the better they can tailor a product. Airlines didn't have the cash to splash on new planes, and if they did, they didn't have the time to wait the several months it can take to produce 1 single plane. It's like the Train situation in Melbourne...we need more trains, but they just can't manufacture them fast enough - Budget constraints, regulations, needing to make a profit for their shareholders.
The points Steve2.0 raised are the most relevant because they are justified. This is definitely going to be interesting, but I think where his age is going to come in handy is the web push. Sure Apple has its retail stores, but they hired someone for that already, so now we need to look at the other areas a Sales VP would cover.
Let's brain storm some and see if can't project a picture of where he may fail, and why...
If Apple purchased a Loudspeaker/Headphone producer, say...B&W they could tailer iTunes files to be best experienced with B&W products, from start to finish, from the creation and production of the song/album, through to the file for distribution, and it's mastering, and then optimised listening experience through B&W speakers/headphones.
The more control they have, the better they can tailor a product. Airlines didn't have the cash to splash on new planes, and if they did, they didn't have the time to wait the several months it can take to produce 1 single plane. It's like the Train situation in Melbourne...we need more trains, but they just can't manufacture them fast enough - Budget constraints, regulations, needing to make a profit for their shareholders.
The points Steve2.0 raised are the most relevant because they are justified. This is definitely going to be interesting, but I think where his age is going to come in handy is the web push. Sure Apple has its retail stores, but they hired someone for that already, so now we need to look at the other areas a Sales VP would cover.
Let's brain storm some and see if can't project a picture of where he may fail, and why...
Up another ten bucks in less than thirty minutes. You should probably stay out of the stock market....
A corporate CFO is not a beancounter.. FAR FAR from it.
A CFO at that level is all about corporate strategy, level 1 policy deployment stuff. Those guys can move from Sales to Marketing to Logistics to Finance and not miss a beat.. He's not the ONLY VP of sales is he?
People are ignorant if you think CFO = accountant, VP of sales = an apple store sales clerk.
There'll be other VP of sales that handles promotions.. his job probably is more focused on strategy, acquisition integration as it relates to sales etc
A CFO at that level is all about corporate strategy, level 1 policy deployment stuff. Those guys can move from Sales to Marketing to Logistics to Finance and not miss a beat.. He's not the ONLY VP of sales is he?
People are ignorant if you think CFO = accountant, VP of sales = an apple store sales clerk.
There'll be other VP of sales that handles promotions.. his job probably is more focused on strategy, acquisition integration as it relates to sales etc
Sounds like the guy is accepting a demotion being "one of the VPs of sales".
Ok, you are now a VP of sales. You enter your new minimalistic Apple HQ office and you...what? Yell at you subordinate because the sales chart is not going up fast enough and they yell at the one below them all the way down to the cute girl at the Apple Store who gets hauled into the manager's office for not selling enough extended warrantees...
You call Cook and ask him to update some products and increase the advertising budget...?
Sounds like a job where your performance is totally dependent on others and yet you get paid more than them.
Ok, you are now a VP of sales. You enter your new minimalistic Apple HQ office and you...what? Yell at you subordinate because the sales chart is not going up fast enough and they yell at the one below them all the way down to the cute girl at the Apple Store who gets hauled into the manager's office for not selling enough extended warrantees...
You call Cook and ask him to update some products and increase the advertising budget...?
Sounds like a job where your performance is totally dependent on others and yet you get paid more than them.
Doesn't this just say it all?
Apple's product first, customers second attitude is notorious and this new hire proves the point. They hire a guy to head sales who comes from the industry that treats customers the worst. To make it worse, that guy was a CFO, a position dedicated to pinching pennies NOT on meeting customer needs. For a smart bunch of people, this is a really dumb move. 🙁
Apple's product first, customers second attitude is notorious and this new hire proves the point. They hire a guy to head sales who comes from the industry that treats customers the worst. To make it worse, that guy was a CFO, a position dedicated to pinching pennies NOT on meeting customer needs. For a smart bunch of people, this is a really dumb move. 🙁
B777Forevar
macrumors 6502a
Apple is in the business of making money. Like oh...I don't know, every company out there that wants to make money?
rdowns
macrumors Penryn
That would explain Apple's consistent #1 rankings in customer satisfaction. What makes you think you have any clue as to who this man is and are more qualified than the Apple executive who hired him?
