Tony
Blevins, Apple’s vice president of procurement, is leaving the technology giant
after a TikTok video surfaced on the internet that showed him make crude
remarks. In the video, a TikToker named Daniel Mac asks him what he does for a
living, as part of a series where the social media content creator asks people
with expensive cars what they do for a living. Blevins’ answer has landed him
in controversy. The senior Apple executive said: “I have rich cars, play golf
and fondle big-breasted women, but I take weekends and major holidays off.”

Who is
Tony Blevins?

Tony
Blevins has worked at Apple for 22 years. When the senior executive became vice
president of production, it was widely believed that he would badger suppliers
to cut costs. A Wall Street Journal profile of Blevins says, “Blevins…will stop
at little to get a favourable deal. He has paraded manufacturers past competitors
in Apple’s lobby and spurned a UPS contract by sending it back to UPS
executives through FedEx.”

Blevins
joined Apple in the year 2000. Starting at corporate procurement, which is to
say that he bought ordinary everyday things for the company, including toilet
paper. His talent lay in the fact that he could get things at the lowest possible
prices, news reports about him say.

Also Read | Top Apple executive Tony Blevins to leave company after TikTok video scandal

There is
little publicly available information about Blevins’ personal life. Watch this
space for more detail.

After the
controversy surfaced, Blevins decided to quit Apple of his own accord,
according to an Apple spokesperson who spoke to Bloomberg. Blevins later told
Bloomberg: “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to
anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humour.”

Tony Blevins,
before his departure, is among the only 30 people in Apple who report directly
to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook and Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Jeff Williams. For most of his career at Apple, Blevins has reported to
Williams, except for a short phase when he reported to Sabih Khan.