Steve Dowling | Influence 100
steve-dowling

Steve Dowling

VP of Communications
Apple
United States


When Katie Cotton stepped down from her post as Apple’s communications chief, there was speculation whether her successor would usher in a more friendly, approachable era for the company’s public relations. It remains unseen how much has shifted under Dowling’s tenure (his rumored rival for the job Natalie Kerris joined Edelman this year as its global technology chair). 

Dowling, who reports to CEO Tim Cook, is responsible for Apple’s worldwide media relations and communications strategy, leading the public relations team as well as employee communications and corporate events. He previously led Apple’s corporate public relations team for ten years.

Before joining Apple in 2003, Dowling worked as a broadcast journalist at CNBC, first as a writer and producer in the network’s Washington, D.C. bureau. He later established CNBC’s Silicon Valley bureau and served as bureau chief. A native of Massachusetts, Dowling holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.