The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. has announced its new CEO, British executive Tom Greene. The Beatles originally founded Apple in 1968 to handle their creative and business interests, with their longtime friend and lieutenant Neil Aspinall as the first CEO. But Apple has kept busy in recent years, as the band’s music keeps getting bigger all the time.
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, and Sean Ono Lennon said in a joint statement, “We are thrilled to welcome Tom Greene as CEO. We have a lot of exciting plans and Tom’s experience and vision make him the perfect person to join us in making it all happen.”
Greene is only the third to hold this position, following two legends. Aspinall is one of the most famous figures in the Beatles story, a member of their inner circle going back to their Liverpool days — he was a school friend of McCartney’s and George Harrison’s, and served as their first roadie, driving a van on their early tours. He ran Apple Corps for nearly 40 years until he retired in 2007, a year before his death. Jeff Jones took over and oversaw the astounding explosion of Beatles archival projects, especially the deluxe editions that began in 2017 with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. These projects have revolutionized how people hear this music, with expanded and remastered editions of the White Album, Abbey Road, Let It Be, and Revolver. So have innovative documentaries like Peter Jackson’s Get Back and Ron Howard’s Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years.
Apple has continued to administer the Beatles’ projects at a frantic pace. Last year alone, Apple and Disney+ released the documentary Beatles ’64, directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, as well as a beautifully restored version of Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 Let It Be. In November, Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe also released The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono, a box collecting the band’s first seven American albums on 180-gram audiophile vinyl. In 2023, Apple released the deluxe reissues of the classic anthologies 1962-1966 and 1967-1970, better known as the Red and Blue albums, along with the Fabs’ official final single, “Now and Then,” which won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.
Trending Stories
Editor’s picks
Greene’s appointment at Apple is effective in September of this year. He comes from the gaming world, where he became COO of the esports company BLAST in 2021. Greene previously spent six years working with the Harry Potter franchise, running Pottermore Publishing as well as Wizarding World Digital. “It is a huge honour to lead Apple Corps into this new phase of its history,” Greene said in a statement. “Like so many people around the world, I grew up in a household obsessed with the Beatles and their music. At a time when the world might need more of the Beatles’ spirit, there are so many new and innovative ways to bring their unique magic to all generations of fans. I cannot wait to get started.”
Tom Greene
PAUL HARRIES/Apple Corps Ltd.
Director Sam Mendes’ four-part movie epic about the band is scheduled to open in April 2028, through Sony Pictures Entertainment and Neal Street Productions. It stars Paul Mescal as Paul, Harris Dickinson as John, Joseph Quinn as George, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo. The official title is The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
