Twitter hires away Apple's diversity chief

That's how Twitter's head of human resources announced that Jeffrey Siminoff, Apple's director of worldwide inclusion and diversity, would be joining Twitter.

Siminoff will start in January as Twitter's new VP of diversity and inclusion. He will replace Janet Van Huysse.

Siminoff has been at Apple (AAPL, Tech30) since 2013 and before that was at Morgan Stanley. He also has strong ties to Out Leadership -- he was one of the founding members on its leadership committee. The advising firm, which works to increase opportunities for LGBT employees, also tweeted its support for Siminoff's new position.

The hiring by Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) comes after it received sharp criticism for its lack of diversity.

In November, former engineer Leslie Miley slammed Twitter for not understanding diversity.

Miley, who worked for Twitter for almost three years, said the company was integral to social media discussions about race. He noted that Twitter provided a platform for hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #Ferguson.

However, Miley said Twitter's corporate makeup was far less inclusive.

His post went viral and elicited an apology from Twitter and shed light on Twitter's inner makeup.

In August, before Miley's post, Twitter released its second annual ethnic and diversity report and said it was committed to creating a "more diverse Twitter."

The company pledged to increase women in leadership roles to 25% and to increase underrepresented minorities in leadership roles to 6% in the U.S.

(CNN)