John Ternus: who is Apple’s new CEO

After 15 years as CEO of Apple, Tim Cook is handing over leadership of the company.

The leadership transition will take effect on 1 September 2026, when John Ternus steps into the CEO role. Cook is not leaving the company and will move into the position of Executive Chairman of the board.

Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO, handing role to John Ternus

Tim Cook will step down as CEO of Apple, with John Ternus set to take over as part of a long-planned leadership transition.

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A CEO transition of this scale marks a critical moment for Apple. During Cook’s tenure, the company’s market capitalisation increased by roughly $3.7 trillion. His era was defined by major supply chain optimisation and the successful expansion into new product categories, including Apple Watch and AirPods.

Industry observers note that appointing an engineering leader rather than an operations-focused executive signals a shift in priorities. To understand where Apple may be heading, it helps to look at Ternus’s track record.

Professional profile of John Ternus

John Ternus, 50, studied engineering and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Apple, he worked on virtual reality technologies at Virtual Research Systems.

Ternus has been with Apple since 2001. He started in hardware engineering, working on enclosures, mounts and components for products such as the Apple Cinema Display and iMac G5. Internally, he built a reputation for precision and an unusual focus on manufacturing quality.

In 2013, Ternus was promoted to Vice President of Hardware Engineering, and in 2021 he became Senior Vice President, reporting directly to Tim Cook. In this role, he oversaw hardware development across Apple’s key product lines, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods. Among the most notable milestones of his tenure:

• Mac architecture transition: Led the shift from Intel processors to Apple Silicon, significantly improving performance and energy efficiency.
• iPad ecosystem development: Backed the creation of iPadOS and features such as Stage Manager, pushing for software capabilities to match increasingly powerful hardware despite internal disagreements.
• Product optimisation: Took a pragmatic approach to underperforming ideas. He oversaw the discontinuation of the Touch Bar in MacBook Pro and led the hardware team through both the rollout and subsequent phase-out of the problematic butterfly keyboard, gaining experience in product crisis management.

Within the company, Ternus commands significant authority. Former and current executives describe his management style as “soft power”: he avoids rigid, top-down control, yet brings a deep command of technical product details to meetings and is willing to defend engineering priorities in discussions with the industrial design team.

Market and industry reaction

In an official statement, Tim Cook emphasised his successor’s leadership values and character:

The appointment has already triggered debate about Apple’s pace of innovation. Some commentators argue that under Cook, the company’s product releases have felt less ambitious compared with the era of Steve Jobs.

Investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis expressed cautious optimism:

Journalist Ashlee Vance reacted with scepticism:

Cannot wait to see what products John Ternus doesn't make.

Entrepreneur and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey commented with characteristic brevity:

RIP Tim Apple.

At the same time, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo emphasised that Ternus’s experience in executing complex system transitions, such as Apple Silicon, is a critical advantage. In his view, this capability will be key as Apple adapts its ecosystem to the demands of AI.

Sam Altman also highlighted Cook’s legacy: