Meta’s Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead Is Joining Apple as General Counsel

Jennifer Newstead Leaves Meta to Become Apple General Counsel

Apple has hired Jennifer Newstead, Meta's chief legal officer, to serve as its next general counsel as part of a wider senior leadership reshuffle. Apple said Newstead will join the company in January as a senior vice president reporting to CEO Tim Cook and is expected to formally assume the role of general counsel on March 1, 2026.

The company also announced planned retirements among senior executives. Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, will retire in late January 2026. Apple said Jackson's Government Affairs organization will first move under Kate Adams and then transition to Newstead after Adams departs. Apple further indicated a staggered reporting-line change that will ultimately put both legal and government affairs under Newstead's purview, while environmental and social initiatives will report to Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan.

Newstead's move follows a recent exchange of senior talent between the two companies: Meta this week hired longtime Apple design lead Alan Dye, who will become Meta's chief design officer at the end of the year.

What Newstead Brings

Newstead has served as Meta's top lawyer since 2019, leading the company's legal strategy through high-profile regulatory and litigation battles. She oversaw Meta's November court victory over the Federal Trade Commission, in which a judge rejected the FTC's attempt to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. At Meta she also handled privacy and cross-border data-transfer challenges in Europe and complex questions around content moderation and elections.

Before joining Meta, Newstead was the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, a Senate-confirmed position in which she led legal counsel on U.S. foreign policy.

Internal Memo

Hi everyone -

I want to share with you that after six and a half years at this remarkable company, I have made the difficult decision to leave Meta at the end of this year to pursue my next adventure.

Serving as Meta's Chief Legal Officer has been a privilege. I am deeply grateful to Mark for his visionary leadership, friendship, and trust in me to champion Meta's cause. I'm also grateful to Sheryl Sandberg for recruiting me and for her support.

I joined Meta in 2019 from the State Department because I believed in our mission and wanted to help the company navigate an important set of changes in the legal and regulatory landscape. Over the last seven years we've hit many milestones, including our recent win in a historic antitrust trial. We have deepened our compliance culture and commitment to responsible innovation.

As for me, I will be joining Apple next year as Senior Vice President, serving as General Counsel and overseeing the Government Affairs function.

Thank you all for making this journey so meaningful. I look forward to seeing all that you achieve in the years ahead.

Jen

What This Means For Both Companies

Meta loses an experienced regulator-facing leader at a sensitive moment for technology policy and privacy enforcement, and will begin a search for Newstead's successor to manage litigation, regulatory strategy and international privacy issues. For Apple, the hire centralizes legal and government affairs under a single senior leader and signals continued focus on regulatory strategy as the company navigates global policy challenges.