It is officially the end of an era in Cupertino. After fifteen years leading the charge, Tim Cook has announced he is stepping down as the CEO of Apple. It is a massive moment for a tech giant that has become synonymous with his steady leadership, but Cook isn’t leaving the building entirely.
He is set to take over as the executive chairman of the board, keeping a watchful eye on things while handing over the day-to-day pressure to a very familiar face.
The man stepping into those massive shoes is John Ternus. If you have been following Apple’s product launches, you will likely recognise him as the senior vice president of hardware engineering. Ternus is a proper Apple veteran, having joined the product design team back in 2001 before moving up to the executive team in 2021.
He has had his hands on pretty much every major product line, from the iPhone to the Mac. We have a bit of a wait before the official handover, though, as he is not scheduled to take the top seat until 1 September 2026.
Looking back at Cook’s run since 2011, the growth has been nothing short of staggering. He took over when Apple’s market capitalisation was around USD350 billion and steered it to that mind-boggling USD4 trillion valuation.
The reshuffle also includes a big promotion for Johny Srouji, who is stepping into the role of chief hardware officer immediately, replacing Ternus.
Srouji has been a key player in Apple’s hardware technologies for years, and now he will be leading the hardware engineering department that Ternus used to oversee.