Apple CEO Tim Cook to step down, John Ternus to take over on Sep 1

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will hand the reins to hardware boss John Ternus later this year, capping a 15-year tenure that turned the company into a $4 trillion business spanning watches, video streaming and financial services.

Ternus will become CEO on Sept. 1, when Cook will transition to executive chairman, the company said in a statement Monday. Ternus, 50, has served as head of hardware engineering since 2021 and spent 25 years focused on product development at the iPhone maker. Bloomberg News previously reported that Ternus was Cook’s heir apparent.

The hardware engineering division will be taken over by longtime deputy Tom Marieb, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He will report to newly named Chief Hardware Officer Johny Srouji. In that role, Srouji is gaining oversight of a freshly combined hardware engineering and hardware technologies group.

Ternus must now chart a new path for one of Silicon Valley’s most storied businesses at a challenging moment. Though Apple’s growth remains strong, the company has struggled to catch up in artificial intelligence — technology that promises to transform the way consumers use devices.

“John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor,” Cook said in the statement. “He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

The announcement comes just weeks after the company’s 50th anniversary celebration — festivities that included a live performance at the Apple Park campus by Paul McCartney. A longtime Apple executive, who worked under both Cook and Ternus, said it “felt obvious that the celebration also doubled as a goodbye to Tim.”


Ternus is a “Tim Jr.” in style and he’s likely going to “continue to run the show the way Tim did,” said the executive, who asked not to be identified in order to speak candidly. Ternus isn’t a Steve Jobs-like showman, the person said. “He’s not a marketing ace. But he’s a product guy who is also politically savvy.”

Like Cook, Ternus is “probably not the guy who’s going to risk it all,” according to the person.

Investors largely took the announcement in stride. After dipping nearly 2 per cent in late trading, the shares pared their losses. They were down less than 0.5 per cent to $271.70 by Monday evening in New York.