Apple Hires ‘Champion of Shareholder Return'

Apple is hiring Xerox's chief financial officer to become its new corporate controller -- and some say that may signal a new era for the shareholder.

Xerox chief financial officer Luca Maestri will be leaving for the Apple job Feb. 28, according to Xerox. Previously Maestri was the CFO at Nokia Siemens Networks before joining Xerox in 2011. 

For those who think the job may be a step down for Maestri, Seeking Alpha reports that Apple's larger business makes it a wise choice. It also suggests that the position has some advancement opportunities since Apple's current CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, was also promoted from controller.  Maestri is also known as "a champion of shareholder return," according to analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays, so if he does control Apple's cash, it's likely he might increase share repurchasing or give out more dividends.

While interesting information, there is no guarantee that Maestri will become Apple's CFO in the near future. However, now that investors have developed a taste for quarterly dividends, it's probably unlikely that Apple will cease the shareholder incentive any time soon.

 
 
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