Apple names hardware chief John Ternus as next CEO

Tim Cook will become executive chairman on September 1 after nearly 15 years leading the company.

Apple announced on Monday that John Ternus, the company's head of hardware engineering, will become chief executive on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook who will remain as executive chairman.¹² Cook, 65, led Apple for nearly 15 years after inheriting the role from the late Steve Jobs.¹

During Cook's tenure, Apple's market value increased by more than $3.6 trillion.¹² The transition follows a similar model to those undertaken by Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Netflix's Reed Hastings, who remained involved with their companies after stepping down as CEO.¹

Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001 and has overseen the development of products including the Mac, iPad and AirPods.²³ He has played a role in the Mac gaining market share against personal computers, though he has maintained a low public profile.²

The leadership change comes as Apple has lost its position as the world's most valuable company to chipmaker Nvidia, with investors expressing concern over Apple's progress in artificial intelligence.²³ In January, Apple reached an agreement with Google to use Google's Gemini technology to improve its Siri virtual assistant.²

In a recent interview with technology review site Tom's Guide, Ternus said: We never think about shipping a technology. We always think about how we can leverage technology to ship amazing products.³ Technology analysts have noted that advances in AI could alter the central role smartphones play in people's lives, with companies including Samsung, OpenAI and Meta developing competing products.³