Apple Appoints VP of Global Retail Stores, Denise Young Smith, to Run Human Resources

After Apple’s recent hires – the ones focused on the rumoured iWatch –made headlines in the blogosphere, the company announced today that it is replacing Joel Podolny, its former head of human resources, reports Bloomberg.

In an effort to grab top talent, the iPhone maker has promoted its VP of Global Retail Stores, Denise Young Smith, as head of human resources. Joel Podolny, whose current position is Dean of Apple University at Apple, will be able to focus on Apple University full-time, as Kristin Huguet, a company spokeswoman said to Bloomberg.

“We are excited that Denise Young Smith will expand her role to lead Apple’s worldwide human resources organization,” Huguet wrote in an e-mail. “Apple University is an increasingly important resource within the company as we continue to grow, so Joel Podolny will be focusing full-time on developing and scaling the University he helped establish.”

As we previously reported, Apple has dropped in the best places to work survey from 10th position to 35th in a recent Glassdoor survey.