Jony Ive, Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) longtime chief design officer, on June 27 announced his plans to leave the iPhone maker to start his own independent design company of which Apple will be a client. Ive is credited with playing a role in developing new hardware and software for more than two decades at Apple. When Apple needed to showcase a brand new category of devices, management was able to count on Ive to deliver.