Jony Ive
Chief Design Officer
Often known as Jony Ive, Sir Jonathan Ive joined Apple in 1992 and was made Senior Vice President of Industrial Design under Steve Jobs in 1997. Rumors suggest he almost left Apple shortly before his new appointment. Ive and Jobs were known to be very close and Ive was granted free reign to work and innovate as he saw fit. His title was recently updated from Senior Vice President to Chief Design Officer in July 2015.
In 1989, Ive earned a first class Bachelor of Arts degree from Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University). He is famous for his unique and popular (although controversial at the time) design of the iMac line, which started in 1998. This success led to his other design accomplishments with the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Ive has shared that iconic designer Dieter Rams has been a major influence for him, and Rams has mentioned that he believes Apple to be one of the few companies that designs around his ‘ten principles of good design.’