Jay Blahnik, vice president of fitness technologies, will leave Apple in July after nearly 13 years with the company. His departure comes while the Apple Fitness+ service remains under internal surveillance and the organization of the health and fitness teams has already started to move.
Apple confirmed to the New York Times the upcoming departure of its vice-president, who is 57 years old. In an email to employees this week, the company says he will leave in July to “spend time with family and settle down in New Yorkâ€.
This departure closes an important cycle in Apple’s well-being strategy. Arriving in 2013, Jay Blahnik was associated very early with the Apple Watch, but his footprint goes beyond the connected watch. He is notably credited with creating Activity Rings, which have become one of the most visible markers of the Apple Watch experience. He also oversaw the development of Apple Fitness+, the subscription service launched in 2020.
A departure that follows a problematic internal sequence
The end of Jay Blahnik’s career does not, however, come down to his record. Last August, the New York Times reported that nine current or former employees described a toxic work environment under his responsibility. Still according to this same story, his behavior has contributed since 2022 to long leave for medical or mental health reasons among more than ten members of the team, or around 10% of the group. The newspaper also mentioned several accusations, including abusive comments, sexual remarks and retaliation, as well as at least one sexual harassment case settled by Apple.
Since this publication, Jay Blahnik has largely faded from the public scene. An internal investigation by Apple, however, found no evidence of misconduct.
Apple has not yet clarified post-Blahnik
The company has not indicated whether it will name a successor to the position of vice president of fitness technologies. She also did not specify whether her responsibilities will be distributed among several managers already in place.
This uncertainty comes at a time when the future of Fitness+ is already the subject of broader reflection. In November it was said that the service was “under exam” internally as it remained one of the company’s weakest digital offerings.
The same movement is accompanied by a reorganization of management. The division had the right to new management, with the addition of Fitness+ to the scope of Sumbul Desai, the health manager at Apple, as part of a broader reshuffle that took place after the control of the health and fitness teams by Eddy Cue, the vice-president of services.
