NY Post Reports That Avie Tevanian Will Be Leaving Apple

by , 1:30 PM EDT, September 25th, 2001

A bit of gossip from the New York Post says that Apple's head software guru, Avie Tevanian, is preparing to leave Apple. Avie Tevanian is officially Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, but what that means is that he has been the brains behind Mac OS X since it was known as NeXTStep. From the New York Post piece:

Avie Tevanian, a longtime buddy, colleague and sometimes punching bag for Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs, is looking to leave the company, according to some in the know about what's going on at Apple.

At least one company observer has speculated that the gains that Intel and Microsoft are making in improving computer speed and performance have something to do with Tevanian's departure. Some also point to Sony Corp.'s increasing presence in the computer business - and its very attractive and expensive PCs and laptops - as new competition for Apple.

Others, who have known the pair for years, say Tevanian is simply ready to do something else.

The search for Tevanian's replacement hasn't been going well. One Silicon Valley exec turned away Jobs' very lucrative offers. That's not exactly a surprise, given Jobs' well-known and utterly well-deserved reputation for berating people with whom he disagrees.

There is additional information in the article that we did not quote. Apple doesn't comment on either rumor or speculation.

The Mac Observer Spin:

We hope this is a bit of ugly Hollywood-style gossip that turns out to be nothing, but one never knows. While there is no doubt that Apple will find a suitable person to replace Mr. Tevanian should it be true (there is information on the search for his replacement in the Post article), it will be a drag to see the father of Mac OS X leave Apple.

New York Post Article