Katie Cotton, the woman behind Apple's image, quits after 18 years
Katie Cotton, the woman behind Apple's tightly-controlled image under Steve Jobs and now under CEO Tim Cook, is resigning after more than 18 years to spend more time with her family.
Katie Cotton: More time with her family
Cotton, Apple's vice president for worldwide communications and considered one of Silicon Valley's most powerful women, was rarely heard from and usually seen in public - only near Jobs and later Cook.
Apple said in a statement to the San Jose Mercury News that "Katie has given her all to this company for over 18 years. She has wanted to spend time with her children for some time now. We are really going to miss her."
Cotton admitted that the decision to leave was "hard," as her long employment at Apple has made the company "a part of her heart."
Cotton oversaw the tightly controlled release of company information,"a strategy that continues to help build excitement and expectations whenever Apple is on the verge of a big announcement and speculation grows wild in the subsequent information vacuum," said the paper.
Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, said Cotton's gracious and warmhearted personality belied the requirements of her job that often put her at odds with journalists covering Apple.
"Their communications strategy added an element of mystery and aura to Apple Computer itself," Bajarin said. "Steve (Jobs) was very much behind the concept of the element of surprise. They just thrived on that kind of marketing communications. And she was the keeper of the gate. As a result, their requests from the media are the highest I've seen of any company outside of Hollywood."
Bajarin says Cotton now deserves time to spend with her children.
"I know she came off to the media as way too strict and probably too rigid and she upset a lot of the media," Bajarin said. "But you can't fault her for following orders. She's the best in the business."
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