Apple did not say exactly what special projects Deneve will be working on, but the Bloomberg news agency reported that he will be reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.
The new vice-president's background in fashion has fuelled speculation that he was brought on board to help design Apple's new device, which some suspect will be some form of wearable computing, possibly a "smart" watch.
Earlier this week, suspicion that Apple would be coming out with a wearable device some time in the future grew stronger after it was reported that the company had submitted an application to trademark the term iWatch in Japan.
Cook suggested at a technology conference earlier this year that wearable computing devices have potential to be the next new hot technological gadgets, saying this area of consumer technology was "ripe for exploration."
Some analysts had also speculated that Deneve might be put in charge of Apple's retail division, which has been plagued by several rocky departures of top executives, including John Browett, who was fired as vice-president of retail a mere seven months after he was hired.
But the technology website ZDNet reported Wednesday that Deneve would not be in charge of the company's retail stores.
