Apple CEO Jeff Jones is stepping down after 17 years at Beatles headquarters

LONDON — Jeff Jones will step down as CEO of The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd after 17 years in the role, the company announced (Oct. 21).

Apple Corps Ltd was founded in 1968 by the Fab Four to control the group's interests in music, film, publishing and more. The role of CEO was previously held by long-time band journalist Neil Aspinall from 1968 to 2007.

Jones joined the team in 2007 after an executive vice president role at Sony/BMG, with a history of repackaging classic catalogs from artists such as Miles Davis.

During his tenure as CEO of Apple Corps, Jones led several projects for the company, including launching the band's website and spearheading the move to make The Beatles' music available digitally on iTunes in 2010.

He also worked with video game producers Harmonix to release The Beatles Rock Band game and the company's 18-year partnership with Cirque Du Soleil for the The Beatles: Love theater performance completed in July 2024.

Jones has served as an executive producer on several film projects, including the Ron Howard documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years and Peter Jackson's triptych Return series, released in 2021 on Disney+.

His work included remastering and repackaging several of the band's iconic albums, including The White albumand in 2012 it was part of the licensing decision Revolver track “Tomorrow Never Knows” to appear on the AMC show Mad Men. This was the first time any of their tracks had been licensed to an American television show and according to information cost the producers about $250,000, five times the standard cost.

Jones' most recent projects included the release of the Beatles' final song “Now and Then” in 2023, which was assisted by machine learning. He serves as an executive producer on the upcoming Beatles '64 The documentary, produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by David Tedeschi, is set to be released in November.

A statement from Apple Corps Ltd said: “The entire Apple Corps family wishes Jeff Jones the best and would like to express our sincere gratitude for his invaluable contribution to the company and the Beatles legacy.”