Apple's first Vice President of inclusion and diversity, Denise Young Smith to leave by year end

Denise Young Smith, who joined Apple in May as its first Vice President of inclusion and diversity, will leave the company at the end of the year. “We deeply believe that diversity drives innovation,” an Apple spokesperson was quoted as saying by TechCrunch. Christie Smith will replace Young Smith to take over the position next year. He had spent 17 years as a principal at consulting firm Deloitte. [caption id=“attachment_4217195” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Denise Young Smith. Image: Apple.[/caption] “We’re thrilled to welcome an accomplished leader like Christie Smith to help us continue the progress we’ve made toward a more diverse workplace,” the report added. Earlier this month, Cornell Tech, a graduate school in New York had announced that Young Smith will be the new Executive-in-Residence at the university and will begin her role in January 2018. Young Smith has been with the tech giant since 1997. She was serving as human resource chief before taking her position in diversity and inclusion in May. She faced backlash over her **comments on diversity** while speaking at a conference last month. “There can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blonde men in a room, and they’re going to be diverse too because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation,” she had said.