Apple facing executive exodus?

Executives shuffle in and out of companies all the time, so a couple moves in and of themselves don't necessarily have an underlying meaning. But Apple appears to be losing a number of its top dogs.

John Herbold, a senior product manager on Apple's recently announced iCloud service, has left the company, according to his LinkedIn page. His departure follows that of Apple Store creator Ron Johnson (who moved to J.C. Penney earlier this month) and OS X creator and Steve Jobs confidante Bertrand Serlet, who left in March.

Beyond his work on iCloud, Herbold also was integral in the development and marketing of Photo Stream.

Three departures, of course, doesn't mean something nefarious or worrisome is going on at Apple, but with Jobs still (officially) on a medical leave of absence, the rash of defections is bound to raise a few eyebrows in the investment community.