TL; DR
- Apple has confirmed a planned leadership transition effective September 1, 2026.
- John Ternus will become CEO, while Tim Cook will move to a newly created Executive Chairman role.
- Ternus is a 25-year Apple veteran who has led hardware engineering across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Silicon Macs.
Apple has officially announced one of its biggest leadership changes in years. John Ternus, the company’s long-serving Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, will become Apple’s next CEO on September 1, 2026. Tim Cook will transition into the newly created role of Executive Chairman of the Board on the same date, following board approval of a long-term succession plan.
Cook will remain CEO through the summer to help oversee the handover and ensure continuity. Apple said he will also stay closely involved in key strategic matters after the transition, including global policy engagement and broader long-term priorities.
About John Ternus
John Ternus is around 50 to 51 years old and has spent nearly his full professional career at Apple. He joined the company in 2001 as part of the product design organization after working as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Over the last 25 years, Ternus has held major leadership roles across nearly every important Apple hardware category. He led hardware engineering for the original iPad and later generations of iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods. He also played a central role in Apple’s shift from Intel processors to Apple Silicon in the Mac lineup, one of the company’s biggest platform transitions in recent years.
In 2021, Apple promoted Ternus to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, where he reported directly to Tim Cook. His responsibilities expanded beyond core hardware development to include product reliability, sustainability, repairability, and newer product categories.
Ternus has also been appearing in more interviews and press events lately, likely to increase his public presence. Inside Apple, he is widely seen as a low-profile executive with strong technical depth and product instincts.
In Apple’s official statement, Tim Cook described Ternus as “a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count” and said he has complete confidence in his ability to lead the company into the future.
Inside Apple
Ternus said it is an extraordinary honor to step into the CEO role. He also credited both Tim Cook and Steve Jobs as important mentors and said Apple’s greatest strength remains its people, culture, and commitment to building products that improve lives.
Apple board chairman Arthur Levinson will step back from that position and become Lead Independent Director. He praised Cook’s leadership over the last decade and a half, highlighting Apple’s growth, discipline, and global impact under his tenure. Levinson also said Ternus is the best possible leader to succeed Cook.
Tim Cook became CEO in 2011 after Steve Jobs stepped down. During his nearly 15 years leading Apple, the company expanded far beyond the iPhone business, strengthened its services division, launched categories such as Apple Watch and AirPods, and became one of the most valuable companies in the world.
This marks the end of one chapter and the start of another. John Ternus will become only the third CEO in Apple’s modern history, following Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. What do you think of this leadership change and how this would impact Apple? Let us know in the comments section below.
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