Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive leaving the company, news wipes US$9B off Apple share value

Apple and Jony Ive have announced that the legendary designer will be leaving the company to start up his own design firm LoveFrom. Although the company and the designer tried to tamp down the news saying that it wouldn’t be a clean break, the market reacted poorly to the news slashing US$9 billion from its share value in after-market trading. Ive will be partnering with long-time friend and fellow Apple designer Marc Newson in the new venture but will include Apple among its list of clients.

"Jony is a singular figure in the design world and his role in Apple's revival cannot be overstated, from 1998's groundbreaking iMac to the iPhone and the unprecedented ambition of Apple Park, where recently he has been putting so much of his energy and care," Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said. For his part, Ive added, "I have the utmost confidence in my designer colleagues at Apple, who remain my closest friends, and I look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ive revealed that his ongoing design work with Apple will revolved around its wearable and healthcare technologies along with certain other “persona passion” projects. However, Ive will now no longer be working exclusively for Apple opening up his services to other partners. Whether that could include other consumer electronics companies or other areas of industrial design altogether isn’t clear at this stage. LoveFrom will be based in California “for now” and will open its doors in 2020.