BRITISH technology guru Sir Jonathan Ive has been promoted to Apple's chief design officer, it has been revealed.

The Northumbria University graduate is the designer behind of some of the best-loved gadgets of modern times and is widely credited for his role in turning around the company's fortunes.

Sir Jonathan, known as Jony, from Chingford in north-east London, has led Apple's design team since the mid-1990s and, alongside former chief executive Steve Jobs, helped bring the firm back from the brink of financial ruin.

Sir Jonathan was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 2012 for services to design and enterprise. He studied industrial design at Newcastle Polytechnic, which is now Northumbria University.

Speaking then about the impact of his products on the modern world, Sir Jonathan said: ''We don't really spend much time thinking about our impact.

''We are fully consumed with trying to make the very best products that we can.''