John Ternus Named Successor from 1 September 2026

After 15 transformative years at the helm of the world’s most valuable company, Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple’s CEO, and hardware engineering chief John Ternus is set to inherit one of the most coveted seats in global business.

The Cupertino-based group confirmed on Monday that Cook, 65, will become executive chairman of the board on September 1, while Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, was promoted to chief executive on the same day. The sequence, approved unanimously by directors, includes what insiders describe as a patient, long-planned handover rather than a quick passing of the baton.

Cook will remain chief executive through the summer, working alongside his successor to ensure a seamless transition. In his new role as chairman, he is expected to focus on global policy involvement, a brief that has grown in weight as Apple navigates tax laws, artificial intelligence regulations and geopolitical pressure on its supply chain.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to be CEO of Apple,” Cook said in a statement. “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and respect. There is no doubt that he is the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

The numbers behind Cook’s time make for engaging reading. Since he succeeded the late Steve Jobs in 2011, Apple’s market capitalization has grown from nearly $350bn to $4tn, a gain of more than 1,000 per cent. Annual revenue has nearly quadrupled, rising from $108bn in the 2011 financial year to more than $416bn in 2025. Cook has added the Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro to the firm’s hardware portfolio, while the Operations division he championed now generates more than $100bn in annual revenue, the most independent work in the business.

For British SMEs who have built their livelihoods around the Apple ecosystem, from App Store developers in Shoreditch to hardware retailers on the high street, Cook’s legacy has been the continued expansion of the platform which now reaches 2.5 billion active devices in over 200 countries. Apple’s global sales volume has more than doubled during his tenure.

Ternus, who has spent nearly a quarter of a century at the company, represents a return to the engineer-led culture established by Jobs. He joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, rose to vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and entered the executive suite in 2021. His fingerprints are on every major product line, from the iPad and AirPods to the latest MacBook Neo and the iPhone 17 range, including the ultra-slim iPhone Air that launched last fall.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity to advance Apple’s mission,” said Ternus. “I’ve spent almost my entire career at Apple, and I’ve been lucky enough to work under Steve Jobs and to have Tim Cook as my mentor.”

A Mechanical Engineering graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Ternus cut his teeth at Virtual Research Systems before joining Apple. He oversaw the shift to Apple-designed silicon, the push toward recycled aluminum and 3D-printed titanium, and the evolution of AirPods into an over-the-counter hearing aid, a rare example of Big Tech hardware being passed off as a bona fide medical device.

In another change, Arthur Levinson, Apple’s non-executive chairman for the past 15 years, will step down to become the lead independent director when the new regime takes effect. Ternus will join the board on the same day.

“Tim’s unprecedented and outstanding leadership has transformed Apple into the best company in the world,” said Levinson. “We believe John is the best leader to succeed Tim.”

Cook’s departure from the general manager’s office closes a chapter that has been described as much about management as professionalism. Where Jobs was amazing, Cook was disciplined – transforming the maverick product house into an operating juggernaut, reducing Apple’s carbon footprint by more than 60 percent compared to 2015 levels as revenue doubled, and putting privacy at the heart of the product proposition. Whether Ternus can continue that trajectory while dominating the pace of hardware development will define the next era in Cupertino, and reverberate across all businesses, large and small, that live within the Apple circle.