Tim Cook to step down as Apple chief executive in September
John Ternus, head of hardware engineering, will assume the role while Cook becomes executive chairman.
Tim Cook to step down as Apple chief executive in September
John Ternus, head of hardware engineering, will assume the role while Cook becomes executive chairman.
Apple announced on Monday that Tim Cook will step down as chief executive on September 1, ending a tenure of nearly 15 years during which the company's market value increased by more than $3.6 trillion.12 Cook, 65, will remain with the Cupertino, California-based company as executive chairman.1
John Ternus, Apple's head of hardware engineering, will succeed Cook as chief executive.12 Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and has been involved in the development of products including the Mac, iPad and AirPods.2 The Mac has gained market share against personal computers under his leadership.2
The transition follows a pattern set by Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Netflix's Reed Hastings, who both moved to executive chairman roles after their tenures as chief executive.1 Cook inherited the chief executive position from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.1
The change comes as Apple faces challenges in artificial intelligence development, a technology in which the company has been perceived as lagging behind competitors.2 Apple has lost its position as the most valuable company to AI chipmaker Nvidia, as investors have raised concerns about the company's innovation in artificial intelligence.2
In January, Apple reached an agreement with Google to use Google's Gemini technology to improve its Siri virtual assistant.2 Despite introducing Siri in 2011, Apple has not yet produced a major hardware or software product centred on newer artificial intelligence technologies, while competitors such as OpenAI's ChatGPT have gained prominence.2