A major Apple executive who helped invent things like Touch ID is retiring.

Bloomberg reports that Steve Hotelling is retiring from Apple. I had never heard of him, but this paragraph from Bloomberg underscores just how much he’s contributed to Apple’s products:

The executive is named on hundreds of patents, including ones related to the iPhone and iPad’s multitouch screen, and known for being one of the inventors of Touch ID — a key feature for authenticating users on Apple devices. “No one was more brilliant than Steve,” said a longtime peer at the company.

Some of chip chief Johny Srouji’s direct reports will be taking over Hotelling’s work.