Apple has chosen Indian origin Sabih Khan as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and now it is the responsibility of taking the company to new heights on his shoulders. 58-year-old Sabih Khan, born in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, will now face many challenges along with handling Apple's global supply chain. From the threats of the tariff of US President Donald Trump to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race, Sabih has many difficulties in front of Sabih but Apple's CEO Tim Cook considers him a "magnificent strategist" and believes Sabih will overcome these challenges.
Sabih Khan was born in 1966 in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. In the fifth grade, his family moved to Singapore, where his early studies were completed. After this he moved to America and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University there. Also, Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Renseller Polytechnic Institute. Before joining the Apple, Sabih worked as an application development engineer and an account technical leader in Ge Plastics.
In 1995, Sabih joined Apple, at that time the company was known for personal computers, not for today's iconic iPhone. In the last three decades, Sabih played an important role in strengthening Apple's global supply chain. Till now he was handling the company's supply chain and product quality as Senior Vice President of Operations. Now he will replace the existing COO Jeff Williams, who are retiring later this month.
Apple Coo sabih khan
Sabih Khan's new responsibility is received at a time when Apple is facing challenges on many fronts. US President Donald Trump has clearly stated Apple that if the company did not bring its products back to the US, he would have to face heavy tariffs. Trump has specially targeted Apple's manufacturing in India and China. "Trump's tariff with China and India is a big challenge for Sabih," says Daniel Iaves, managing director of Vedbash Securities.
Apple has tried to take its supply chain out of China in recent years. The company has increased its manufacturing in India and Vietnam. According to an ET report, Foxconn is planning to assemble 25-30 million iPhone units in India this year, which is double compared to last year. But Trump's pressure is that the production should be in the US, which has a complex challenge to implement the "China +1" strategy in front of Sabih. Anurag Aggarwal, the founder of Tech Azal, says, "Writing Apple's supply chain again for the multipler world will be Sabih's biggest challenge. This is as if designing the engine of spacecraft among meteorites."
Recently, it was reported that China has withdrawn 300 Chinese engineers from Foxcony's India factory, which has raised questions on India's ambition to play an important role in Apple's Global Value Chain. Sabih will have to balance between India, China and America in this complex situation, so that Apple's products are delivered on time and do not have a sudden jump in prices.
Apple iPhone Production
Apart from the supply chain, Sabih will also face challenges on the AI front. Apple is being considered behind its rivals in the AI race. Recently, Meta, the chief Ruaming Pang of Apple's AI department, was associated with Meta, which is a big shock for Apple. Daniel Iaves says that Apple may need to acquire in future to strengthen its position in AI. Sabih will have to accelerate Apple's strategy in this area, so that the company can maintain its competitive position.
Sabih Khan has also played an important role in Apple's Sustainability initiative. Under his leadership, Apple has reduced his carbon footprint less than 60 percent. The company aims to neutral the entire supply chain by 2030, and Sabih will have to promote new techniques and green manufacturing partnerships to achieve this ambitious target. Tim Cook said, "Sabih has promoted new techniques in advanced manufacturing and has provided Apple in facing global challenges."
Sabih Khan is included in the growing list of top technology executives of Indian origin, who are making their place in the C-suits of big tech companies of America. Apple's CFO Kevin Parekh is also of Indian origin, who took this responsibility in January this year. Sanjeev Joshipura, executive director of Idiaspora, said, "Global geopolitical change, interruption in supply chain and increasing influence of AI, it is a great achievement to achieve the role of COO in global giants like Apple, AI."
Apple Ceo Tim Cook
The biggest challenge before Sabih Khan will be to keep Apple's global supply chain strong, so that products like iPhone, MACBOOK and Vision Pro reach customers on time, their quality remains intact and there is no big jump in prices. Aggarwal of Tech Ajal has described it as Apple's "beating heart". Sabih will have to balance between countries like America, China and India, so that the cost and delivery of the company is not affected despite Trump's tariff pressure. Along with this, intensifying the progress of the company in AI and achieving the goal of sustainability will be included in their priorities. Sabih Khan's experience and Tim Cook's confidence suggests that he is able to overcome these challenges. But will he be able to give a new direction to Apple in this complex phase? This will tell the time to come.
