Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer to retire after 18 years

Apple’s chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer will retire at the end of September after 18 years at the company.

“His guidance, leadership and expertise have been instrumental to Apple’s success, not only as our CFO but also in many areas beyond finance, as he frequently took on additional activities to assist across the company. His contributions and integrity as our CFO create a new benchmark for public company CFOs,” said Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a statement posted on the company’s website. “Peter is also a dear friend I always knew I could count on. Although I am sad to see him leave, I am happy he is taking time for himself and his family.”

Though not a household name, Oppenheimer is well-known to Apple-watchers as one of the critical voices on the company’s earnings calls each quarter. His time at Apple covers an extraordinary period in the company’s history that saw the return of Steve Jobs and a resurgence that took it from the edge of bankruptcy to the most valuable company in the world.

During that time, Apple’s annual revenue has grown from $8 billion to $171 billion.

“I love Apple and the people I have had the privilege to work with and after 18 years here, it is time for me to take time for myself and my family,” said Peter Oppenheimer. “For quite some time, I have wanted to live on the central coast of California and get more involved at Cal Poly, my alma mater; spend more time with my wife and sons; travel to interesting parts of the world; and something I have wanted to do for years— finish the requirements for my pilot’s license.”

Oppenheimer became CFO in 2004 while the company was caught up in the controversy related to the backdating of stock options that was sweeping Silicon Valley at the time. That led then-CFO Fred Anderson to step down and Oppenheimer to move into that role.

In an interesting bit of timing, Goldman Sachs had just announced Monday that Oppenheimer was joining its board of directors.

The company said Luca Maestri, Apple’s vice president of finance and corporate controller, will be promoted to replace him.

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