Technology giant Apple has announced a reshuffle of its board, with long-serving executive Jeff Williams being named chief operating officer - a role that has been empty since 2011.
Williams, who has been with the company since 1998 and was the head of Apple operations division, now moves into the role last held by current chief executive Tim Cook before he was promoted following the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.
Another long-standing executive, Phil Schiller, who is often seen on stage at live events, has been made head of the App Store.
"We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple's executive team," Cook said.
"As we come to the end of the year, we're recognising the contributions already being made by two key executives."
This year, Apple broke company and global profit records following the launch of the iPhone 6, announcing profits of more than STG11 billion ($A23 billion) in the first quarter of the year.
The company also launched its first smartwatch, the iPad Pro and the iPhone 6s this year, and unveiled a music streaming service aiming to compete with Spotify, which launched in June as Apple Music.
