Apple has created a new role designed to oversee the company’s Chinese operations.
Isabel Ge Mahe, who has served as VP for Wireless Technologies at Apple since 2008, will take on the newly created position of managing director and vice president for Greater China, which also covers Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Ge Mahe, who was born in the Liaoning province in northeast China and is fluent in Mandarin, has led Apple’s wireless technologies software engineering teams for the best part of a decade, with a specific focus on developing “cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, location, and motion technologies for nearly every Apple product,” according to Apple. She has also spearheaded the engineering teams working on HomeKit, Apple Pay, and CarPlay.
Specific to China, Ge Mahe has already been working in close unison with Apple’s R&D team and local carriers to develop features for iPhone and iPad, according to Apple.
The China conundrum
Though Apple’s shares have gone from strength-to-strength in recent years — an upwards trajectory that kicked off with the launch of the iPhone a decade ago — China remains a tricky market for the Cupertino company.
China was once considered the next major market for Apple would dominate, but sales have slowly decayed with local brands ruling the roost. The company posted $ 10.7 billion in sales in China in Q2 2017, down 14 percent year-on-year (YoY), and represented the fifth straight quarter of YoY declines in the country for Apple.
Apple continues to woo the Chinese market, however, and Cook has always maintained that the company is still optimistic about its prospects in the country.
“Apple is strongly committed to invest and grow in China, and we are thrilled that Isabel will be bringing her experience and leadership to our China team,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, of Ge Mahe’s appointment, in a press release. “She has dedicated a great deal of her time in recent years to delivering innovation for the benefit of Apple customers in China, and we look forward to making even greater contributions under her leadership.”
In the tenth anniversary year of the iPhone, Apple is now ramping up its efforts in what could still prove a major market for the company, and it comes at a crucial time when the Chinese government is increasingly imposing restrictions on foreign companies — just last year, China banned Apple’s mobile entertainment services.
Apple knows it faces many obstacles in the years ahead in China, and that is why it has created this new role, where Ge Mahe will be charged with working with local lawmakers and regulators to help Apple navigate the bumpy road ahead.
“I’m honored to have this opportunity to represent Apple in China and work more closely with our incredibly talented team,” said Ge Mahe. “Everyone at Apple is proud of the contributions we make to the communities where we do business, and I am looking forward to deepening our team’s connections with customers, government and businesses in China to advance innovation and sustainability.”
