Apple Names Ternus as Next CEO; Tim Cook to Become Chairman

- Apple Inc. named hardware chief John Ternus as the iPhone maker’s next leader, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook shifting to the role of executive chairman.

Ternus will become CEO on Sept. 1, the company said in a statement Monday. The Apple veteran was head of hardware engineering since 2021 and has spent 25 years focused on product development at the iPhone maker. Bloomberg News previously reported that Ternus was Cook’s heir apparent. When Apple Inc. announced Monday that longtime leader Tim Cook would be replaced by John Ternus, it published an image of the two executives walking side by side at the company’s campus in Cupertino, California.

Both men are wearing Apple Watches, dark button-up shirts and blue jeans as they smile at each other — a near mirror image. The implication: Ternus, Apple’s hardware head, will bring continuity as chief executive officer and help preserve Cook’s legacy.

But Ternus will have a challenge when he officially takes the job in September. Even as he maintains Apple’s device empire — and its more than $400 billion in annual revenue — the executive will need to take chances, enter new product categories and find the company’s footing in artificial intelligence. None of that will be easy, and the ability to “think different” will determine whether Apple can keep thriving in the AI era.

“He must resist the temptation of incrementalism that has plagued Apple of late,” Forrester Research Inc. analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said in a note. “As Ternus assumes the helm, he must define Apple’s future as ferociously as he defends its past.”

Moving Faster

Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001, four years after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a mechanical engineering degree. To succeed in this next chapter, he will need to keep what works — operational discipline and calm leadership — while breaking from the consensus-driven decision-making that has defined Cook’s tenure. He will also need to move faster, sharpen Apple’s competitiveness in AI and deliver new hardware hits.

“Installing Ternus signals a renewed emphasis on products,” Tony Blevins, Apple’s longtime procurement chief, said in an interview. “Retaining Cook in the executive chair position preserves his unique statesmanship presence,” he said, adding that this is critical during “these times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.”

Cook did oversee the launch of groundbreaking products, including the Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro headset, but the track record is mixed. The watch and earbuds became enormous successes, though both emerged while key members of his predecessor’s leadership and engineering teams were still at the company.

The Vision Pro — long envisioned by Cook as a capstone product — has flopped, despite a decade of development and billions in investment. Apple also spent roughly $10 billion on an autonomous-car project that was ultimately scrapped. In both cases, Ternus’ instincts appear to have been more cautious; he opposed the initiatives to varying degrees.

Read More: How Apple Sank About $1 Billion a Year Into a Car It Never Built

Where Ternus has excelled is execution. He has ensured that Apple consistently delivers updated versions of the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch each year, while improving hardware quality, durability and performance — hallmarks of his stint as hardware chief.

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