Apple Inc. has reportedly hired former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve as a vice president who will report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook working on "special projects" and will not be involved as head of retail.
Bloomberg's Adam Satariano reported the news via Twitter early on Wednesday. Yves Saint Laurent is a high profile fashion brand and retailer. ZDNet reports Deneve, prior to being CEO of the recently rebranded "Saint Laurent Paris, worked as president of other high profile fashion brands Lavin and Nina Vicci. No one is quite sure exactly what someone with a fashion background will bring to the tech giant's table. So far Apple will not share any details as to what exactly Deneve will be working on other than repetition of the phrase 'special projects.'"
However, this does tell us that Deneve will not be stepping in for John Browett who departed the company last fall.
Many are already speculating that Deneve's first project will have to do with meshing form and function together on the long rumored iWatch, a name which the company recently put a patent on in Japan. The project is largely the subject of rumors coming out of Apple. Despite speculation that makes the new project sound almost like an inevitability, Apple Inc. has done absolutely nothing to confirm or deny the existence of a project to develop a wearable device for the wrist, which either works in tandem with user's mobile devices or as a standalone bit of equipment.
Between the patent and pressure to develop wearable tech from Google Glass and Foxconn's new smartwatch that can already integrate with the iPhone if Apple is going to make a move toward an iWatch, it will have to be soon. Deneve obviously has the background to make an iWatch fashionable yet still a device people will want to wear and accessories with, however, what other kind of special projects would he be able to work on for a technology company following the iWatch?
