Katie Cotton, a longtime Apple Inc. communications chief who served as a steward for the company’s iconic brand during the Steve Jobs era and beyond, has died.
(Bloomberg) — Katie Cotton, a longtime Apple Inc. communications chief who served as a steward for the company’s iconic brand during the Steve Jobs era and beyond, has died.
Cotton, born in 1965, “passed peacefully” on April 6, her family said in an online obituary. Apple confirmed her death in a statement Monday.
“We’re deeply saddened by Katie’s passing,” the company said. “She was an extraordinary person and she made countless contributions over the course of her two-decade career at Apple. Our thoughts are with her loved ones and everyone who had the opportunity to work with her.”
Cotton was named Apple’s vice president of communications in 1996 and stayed in that role until her retirement in 2014, crafting the company’s media strategy and helping orchestrate its groundbreaking launch events. She worked behind the scenes as a champion of Apple’s brand and famously protected Jobs through his health decline.
Cotton left the company about two years into the tenure of Tim Cook, Jobs’s successor as chief executive officer. Her time at the company coincided with one of the most remarkable comebacks in tech history, with Apple rebounding from near-insolvency to become the most valuable business in the world.
She is survived by two children and partner Jim Wells.
“She arrived in California from New Jersey in 1988 ready to make her mark on the world. And so she did,” her family said in the obituary. “Katie is recognized as one of the most remarkable women in public relations and marketing in technology.”
(Updates with more details starting in second paragraph.)
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