Apple puts veteran engineer in charge of a “new project”

What just happened? Apple this week announced that veteran hardware engineer Dan Riccio will be shifting gears to work on a new project within the company. It’s anyone’s guess as to what Riccio will be working on but recent rumors could point us in the right direction.

Riccio joined Apple in 1998 following a stint at Compaq where he worked as a senior manager of mechanical engineering. At Apple, he served as vice president of product design until mid-2010 when he became VP of the iPad division. According to his LinkedIn bio, he has served as senior vice president of hardware engineering since August 2012.

The shuffle will see John Ternus fill Riccio’s role as the leader of the hardware engineering team. Ternus has been with Cupertino since 2001 and most recently served as a VP of hardware engineering.

(Dan Riccio has been with Apple since 1998.)

Apple was mum on exactly what Riccio would be working on next, referencing his focus only as a “new project.” Riccio said he was looking forward to doing what he loves most, “focusing all my time and energy at Apple on creating something new and wonderful that I couldn’t be more excited about.”

Recent rumors suggest Apple is heavily involved in augmented reality and might be revisiting its interest in the automotive industry.

Apple did say that Riccio will be reporting directly to Tim Cook.

Masthead credit Novikov Aleksey