Apple's Head of Retail Engineering Leaving Company After 10 Years

Diogo Rau, who has served as Apple's head of engineering for retail and the online Apple store, will leave the company following 10 years of service to join Lilly as its senior VP and chief information and digital officer.

apple store reopening
Rau announced his departure from Apple on Linkedin, saying that it has been a privilege to work with his colleagues at Apple and that the company has "set the standard for the retail industry."

Rau joined Apple in April of 2011, and during his tenure, he witnessed and helped the company expand its retail locations and presence around the world. Throughout the years, Apple Stores have taken on a life of their own, serving as a community hub rather than simply a place to purchase products.

Rau also spearheaded Apple's efforts in the digital space, helping to grow its e-commerce platforms, the Apple Store app, and the roll-out of product launches at retail locations. Rau will begin his new role at Lilly on May 17.

Popular Stories

ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...
iphone 17 lineup cad render majin bu

Revealed: Entire iPhone 17 Lineup's Striking New Camera Designs

Monday February 24, 2025 2:49 am PST by
A new CAD render of all the devices in Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 lineup has been shared online by leaker Majin Bu, specifically showing the allegedly different rear camera system designs of the standard iPhone 17, all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. The leaker Majin Bu has had some hits in the past, but some of his information has been wrong,...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
prioritize notifications ios 18 4

Everything New in iOS 18.4 Beta 1

Friday February 21, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Apple finally released the first beta of iOS 18.4 to developers for testing purposes, and while the beta is lacking some of the Apple Intelligence features we were hoping for, there are some notable new additions. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Priority Notifications - Apple Intelligence There is a new Priority Notifications feature that can show you your most...
ios 18 4 ambient music

iOS 18.4 Adds New Ambient Music Feature

Friday February 21, 2025 11:06 am PST by
In iOS 18.4, there's a new Ambient Music option that can be added to Control Center. There are four different sound categories, including Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing. Each category can be added to Control Center separately, and tapping one plays a random selection of sounds or music from that particular category. You can't choose what's playing from Control Center, but if...

Top Rated Comments

T Coma Avatar
51 months ago
I’m an engineer.
Really? What, a EE?
No, a retail engineer.
?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kjvmartin Avatar
51 months ago

Throughout the years, Apple Stores have taken on a life of their own, serving as a community hub rather than simply a place to purchase products.
Community? Hub? LOL @ This. I am tryin to get in and out of an Apple Store as quickly as possible. Best if I can just get it online shipped. The times I've had to go in there, I feel like cattle. Plus I have to go to a mall to get there.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
51 months ago

Community? Hub? LOL @ This. I am tryin to get in and out of an Apple Store as quickly as possible. Best if I can just get it online shipped. The times I've had to go in there, I feel like cattle. Plus I have to go to a mall to get there.
This. It’s probably been a couple of years since I had to tolerate an apple store.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TravelsInBlue Avatar
51 months ago
Apple stores have had an increasingly terrible customer experience, and the ones near me have become sterile and fuglier over the last ten years. The Microsoft store across the pathway was always nicer looking with a more pleasant shopping experience. I always just end up going to Best Buy these days.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
51 months ago
Is he responsible for the non sense that tied the Apple Store app to your iCloud account on your device? Haven't been able to use it since.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigfatipod Avatar
51 months ago
For those knocking on the title of "retail engineer", I think its worth giving this person a lot of credit in what they've accomplished.
If that's still not enough, he certainly has the background to understand "wires".
Rau graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in industrial engineering and engineering management.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)